It seems to be my personal enigma , but I don't seem to be able to walk through this gate without being hindered by barricades.
About 34 years ago, during my first real visit to Berlin it was the Berlin Wall which created the barricade to stop me from going through. This time, the wall gone and free access to everywhere, it was the Pope 's visit and the increased security measures which caused the area around the gate to be barricaded.
Once the pope was gone and we thought normal Berlin life prevailed ,we found that the bleechers from the Berlin Marathon had not been taken down and again no access for me.
Well Brandenburger Tor, I have had enough , I 'll find myself another gate and walk through it freely!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Being back in germany
The fall has been glorious and already too cool-everything proper weather should be-something to enjoy and something to complain about.
Friends have been met, plans full filled and others cancelled , so that no day is ever boring.
While I am waiting to hear from my step daughter, I was able to enjoy a few domestic hours to while away the time. Soon I'll be out again to partake in the Kirmes activities. It is Qaetsche Kaermes in Feldkirchen , a typical churchfair, woven into a strong historic background. Certain songs have to be sung at the right time, a special tree has to be falled for the Kirmes, to display the Kirmesmann,who incidentally is black. Why, no body knows!By the way , he will be shot dead on Tuesday and buried until nest year. He'll also get a piece of plum(Qaetsche) cake in his hand!
Luckily ,I have also had some time to do sightseeing, visiting the geysir in Namedy and the Bundesgartenschau(the German Gardening Show 2011)
My focal point is still to walk the paths of my childhood , to visit the cemetary and to remember my parents.
Could I live here again, yes I think I could!
But for now, it is a visit and I am only in the middle of it.
Friends have been met, plans full filled and others cancelled , so that no day is ever boring.
While I am waiting to hear from my step daughter, I was able to enjoy a few domestic hours to while away the time. Soon I'll be out again to partake in the Kirmes activities. It is Qaetsche Kaermes in Feldkirchen , a typical churchfair, woven into a strong historic background. Certain songs have to be sung at the right time, a special tree has to be falled for the Kirmes, to display the Kirmesmann,who incidentally is black. Why, no body knows!By the way , he will be shot dead on Tuesday and buried until nest year. He'll also get a piece of plum(Qaetsche) cake in his hand!
Luckily ,I have also had some time to do sightseeing, visiting the geysir in Namedy and the Bundesgartenschau(the German Gardening Show 2011)
My focal point is still to walk the paths of my childhood , to visit the cemetary and to remember my parents.
Could I live here again, yes I think I could!
But for now, it is a visit and I am only in the middle of it.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Road Side Conclusions
While cycling along the country roads around my home in order to rehab my knee, I could not help , but noticing the unbelievable debris which accumulates in the ditches on the side of the roads.
Everything from empty bottles and cans, fast food wrappers, cigarette boxes,banana peel,work gloves and underwear(!)
Because I tend to cycle the same stretch of road, I also started to pay more attention to the items which litter the country side.
It disturbed me so much, that I started to mentally keep track of what I saw.
Budweiser cans, cheap No Name beer cans , pop cans, paper coffee cups,some beer bottles , liquor bottles,Players cigarette boxes,Mac Donald take out bags,work gloves and under wear.
My conclusion is that sadly there are people who drive to work,drinking coffee and smoking, having lunch while driving, drinking beer and hard liquor to relax in the evening and than toss out the underwear to get rid of the evidence of some extracurricular activity.
All those people who do one or the other-could you please stop this and be responsible, if you step outside the car to purchase your junk , you can just as easily step out to dispose of it and for the under wear, leave on in the first place-please!
Everything from empty bottles and cans, fast food wrappers, cigarette boxes,banana peel,work gloves and underwear(!)
Because I tend to cycle the same stretch of road, I also started to pay more attention to the items which litter the country side.
It disturbed me so much, that I started to mentally keep track of what I saw.
Budweiser cans, cheap No Name beer cans , pop cans, paper coffee cups,some beer bottles , liquor bottles,Players cigarette boxes,Mac Donald take out bags,work gloves and under wear.
My conclusion is that sadly there are people who drive to work,drinking coffee and smoking, having lunch while driving, drinking beer and hard liquor to relax in the evening and than toss out the underwear to get rid of the evidence of some extracurricular activity.
All those people who do one or the other-could you please stop this and be responsible, if you step outside the car to purchase your junk , you can just as easily step out to dispose of it and for the under wear, leave on in the first place-please!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Multilingual Deer
Upon rising yesterday morning , I noticed a young mule deer buck with a nice rack nibbling on our shrubs in front of the house.
Deer pruning we call it, but I was not in the mood for pruning right now.
As I opened the door, the buck took 3 hops back , turned around and looked expectantly towards me.
So I told him , in German of course, to please not eat the shrubs .He kept looking and I kept talking, even Mitzi joined the fun by winding around my feet and purring loudly. It was peaceful.
Back inside , while getting my tea ready , I noticed yet another buck, also nibbling away on our shrubs. I went out again and gave him the same lecture. Buck # 1 found this so interesting, he came even closer to better understand. Amazing, theses guys are not only very used to having us around , but they also seem to have a particular liking to the sound of German.
Deer linguistics 201 on Horsecreek road.
Deer pruning we call it, but I was not in the mood for pruning right now.
As I opened the door, the buck took 3 hops back , turned around and looked expectantly towards me.
So I told him , in German of course, to please not eat the shrubs .He kept looking and I kept talking, even Mitzi joined the fun by winding around my feet and purring loudly. It was peaceful.
Back inside , while getting my tea ready , I noticed yet another buck, also nibbling away on our shrubs. I went out again and gave him the same lecture. Buck # 1 found this so interesting, he came even closer to better understand. Amazing, theses guys are not only very used to having us around , but they also seem to have a particular liking to the sound of German.
Deer linguistics 201 on Horsecreek road.
Friday, July 29, 2011
One Million People
What awesome time we had in Nova Scotia, home of my best friend and her wonderful husband and 999998 more equally friendly people.
And it is the mix of absolutely stunning surroundings and the people which makes Nova Scotia so spectacular!
Our friends greeted us at the airport upon our arrival , to help us find our way to their home, afraid that we would loose ourselves in the myrrh of Halifax' streets.
We spend a lovely evening in good camaraderie, reminiscing about our wild mountaineering , bicycling and skiing days out West ,and receiving good advice about our Cape Breton adventure which would start the following day.
Our B&B in Baddeck was lovely, everything just right and the rooms clean and romantic ,full of books and more books ,a fact Werner truly enjoyed!
The Cabot Trail , which we drove counterclockwise, to have the best views did not disappoint.
Ocean views and mountain views galore, inter spaced with tiny little fishing villages and gift shops.
We found beaches with perfectly round shaped rocks and beaches with perfectly flattened rocks , all made by the waves crushing onto the shores.Impressive!
I can't believe , I ever cycled this trail, there is hardly ever enough room for cyclists and cars -so I better keep my memories of this trip alive , there will be no repeat cycling of the trail!
We continued to eat our way through the delicacies this Atlantic province has to offer, fresh oysters for lunch at Aspy Bay, lobster dinner in Baddeck,marinated herring where ever we found it, perfect Chowder in little shanty's along the roads-divine!
Our absolute highlight was our side trip around Cape George-untouched by mass tourism, beautiful views, small farms , serenity exuding peacefulness-and the future home of our friends!
The following days were spend with us being whisked away to experience more of our friends live.
We went sailing and Werner got to be the helmsman under sail, tacking and all and he took to it like a true waterman. My father would have been proud, wait 'til I tell him about his son in laws adventures!
We did a walking tour of Halifax and visited the immigration museum on Pier 21. Although Werner arrived by boat as well, his and my arrival onto Canadian soil cannot compare to what theses immigrants of yesteryear had to go through. We spoke the language, had careers that already promised work and we had money, the refugees of the war and post war era had nothing!
As our last impression , we got to see the Bay of Fundy during low tide. Ships are sitting stranded down in the harbor, waiting for the water to return to carry them out to sea. The tidal wave for the bay is immense and can get dangerously high during times of storm and full moon cycles.
While the water demonstrates it's incredible power, the wine yards a few miles inland produce incredible reds and whites, which we were also fortunate to taste .
For a province so diversified and rich in different cultures , it is hard to believe that only 1 000 0000 people are able to hold it all together!
And it is the mix of absolutely stunning surroundings and the people which makes Nova Scotia so spectacular!
Our friends greeted us at the airport upon our arrival , to help us find our way to their home, afraid that we would loose ourselves in the myrrh of Halifax' streets.
We spend a lovely evening in good camaraderie, reminiscing about our wild mountaineering , bicycling and skiing days out West ,and receiving good advice about our Cape Breton adventure which would start the following day.
Our B&B in Baddeck was lovely, everything just right and the rooms clean and romantic ,full of books and more books ,a fact Werner truly enjoyed!
The Cabot Trail , which we drove counterclockwise, to have the best views did not disappoint.
Ocean views and mountain views galore, inter spaced with tiny little fishing villages and gift shops.
We found beaches with perfectly round shaped rocks and beaches with perfectly flattened rocks , all made by the waves crushing onto the shores.Impressive!
I can't believe , I ever cycled this trail, there is hardly ever enough room for cyclists and cars -so I better keep my memories of this trip alive , there will be no repeat cycling of the trail!
We continued to eat our way through the delicacies this Atlantic province has to offer, fresh oysters for lunch at Aspy Bay, lobster dinner in Baddeck,marinated herring where ever we found it, perfect Chowder in little shanty's along the roads-divine!
Our absolute highlight was our side trip around Cape George-untouched by mass tourism, beautiful views, small farms , serenity exuding peacefulness-and the future home of our friends!
The following days were spend with us being whisked away to experience more of our friends live.
We went sailing and Werner got to be the helmsman under sail, tacking and all and he took to it like a true waterman. My father would have been proud, wait 'til I tell him about his son in laws adventures!
We did a walking tour of Halifax and visited the immigration museum on Pier 21. Although Werner arrived by boat as well, his and my arrival onto Canadian soil cannot compare to what theses immigrants of yesteryear had to go through. We spoke the language, had careers that already promised work and we had money, the refugees of the war and post war era had nothing!
As our last impression , we got to see the Bay of Fundy during low tide. Ships are sitting stranded down in the harbor, waiting for the water to return to carry them out to sea. The tidal wave for the bay is immense and can get dangerously high during times of storm and full moon cycles.
While the water demonstrates it's incredible power, the wine yards a few miles inland produce incredible reds and whites, which we were also fortunate to taste .
For a province so diversified and rich in different cultures , it is hard to believe that only 1 000 0000 people are able to hold it all together!
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Shining
Hold on to your gold crowns!
If you have not noticed , gold is shining brightly on the investment horizon. It now costs more than 1600 $ for a troy ounce of gold.
I remember that I wanted to buy gold in 2000 to invest as a hedge against inflation and my broker , unusually incompetent told me : "Nobody can make money with gold!" We soon parted ways , because I can only tolerate stupidity for so long, particularly if my own money is involved and went on to persue my own interests .
Slowly , but surely everything I had anticipated has come true and the story is far from over.
Economic uncertainty has mired the Euro and even more so the US dollar, even so the news so far has been pummeling the Euro instead of discussing the potential problems with US bankruptcy.
Well, the latest developments in the US shows that the mighty US dollar is in trouble and the rise in gold does certainly reflect this.
Gold mining stocks are trailing behind and are still a good buy, otherwise any pull back is an opportunity, and there will be pull backs.
Hang on to your old jewellery and gold crowns and wait for the party to get into full swing before you give it away.
The ski is not quite the limit, but it will be well up on the stair way.
If you have not noticed , gold is shining brightly on the investment horizon. It now costs more than 1600 $ for a troy ounce of gold.
I remember that I wanted to buy gold in 2000 to invest as a hedge against inflation and my broker , unusually incompetent told me : "Nobody can make money with gold!" We soon parted ways , because I can only tolerate stupidity for so long, particularly if my own money is involved and went on to persue my own interests .
Slowly , but surely everything I had anticipated has come true and the story is far from over.
Economic uncertainty has mired the Euro and even more so the US dollar, even so the news so far has been pummeling the Euro instead of discussing the potential problems with US bankruptcy.
Well, the latest developments in the US shows that the mighty US dollar is in trouble and the rise in gold does certainly reflect this.
Gold mining stocks are trailing behind and are still a good buy, otherwise any pull back is an opportunity, and there will be pull backs.
Hang on to your old jewellery and gold crowns and wait for the party to get into full swing before you give it away.
The ski is not quite the limit, but it will be well up on the stair way.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
On The Range
What populated place our home is at times!It makes me laugh to think , how we create a whole bunch of conversations , just by not exactly pronouncing right, not listening properly , or not seeing clearly.
When I arrived from Germany last Sunday, Werner told me a lot about Archie Taylor. He kept explaining more and more and me being extremely tired just listened -until I could not help but ask , "Who is Archie Taylor?"
Turns out, Archie Taylor is the agitator from the seeder , Werner spend days to make it spit out the seeds properly and evenly.
Our daughter on the other hand overheard us talk about a Jamaican. Jamaican this and that and she felt compelled to remind us, that one should not refer to people by their home country , but by their names. Well , we did that, but a little laziness while pronouncing the name , made him the "Jamaican "!
Both Werner and I have many times raced to get the binoculars in order to spot some exotic animal more clearly, only to find out , that it is just a shrub or the wheelbarrow illuminated in a different way , to make them look like buffalo, moose , bears or wolfs. Crazy!
Even the landscape surrounding us takes on a live of its own. Driving along Grand Valley Road in the summer reminds us regularly of the hills of Tuscany , olive trees and cypresses and all.
Looking out west while sitting on our deck reminds us often of the African Savannah, and if we look closely, we even see the giraffes walking in the distance.
I can't wait who or what is coming next to our magic place.
When I arrived from Germany last Sunday, Werner told me a lot about Archie Taylor. He kept explaining more and more and me being extremely tired just listened -until I could not help but ask , "Who is Archie Taylor?"
Turns out, Archie Taylor is the agitator from the seeder , Werner spend days to make it spit out the seeds properly and evenly.
Our daughter on the other hand overheard us talk about a Jamaican. Jamaican this and that and she felt compelled to remind us, that one should not refer to people by their home country , but by their names. Well , we did that, but a little laziness while pronouncing the name , made him the "Jamaican "!
Both Werner and I have many times raced to get the binoculars in order to spot some exotic animal more clearly, only to find out , that it is just a shrub or the wheelbarrow illuminated in a different way , to make them look like buffalo, moose , bears or wolfs. Crazy!
Even the landscape surrounding us takes on a live of its own. Driving along Grand Valley Road in the summer reminds us regularly of the hills of Tuscany , olive trees and cypresses and all.
Looking out west while sitting on our deck reminds us often of the African Savannah, and if we look closely, we even see the giraffes walking in the distance.
I can't wait who or what is coming next to our magic place.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Grosse Baggerei-big digging
Nina and Kai took me just recently on a boat tour on the Rhine river and we sped past an old sign which announced "Grosse Baggerei".If you pronounce it in German it sound somewhat odd in English , so we had a nice chuckle. Nina had mentioned that she loves the word "baggern",digging in English, so I saw the connection.
Anyhow, little did I know that the grosse Baggerei would follow me home.
Here we are again , 4 years after a big renovation, which included digging down to the basement foundation, we have to do it again. Hopefully right this to time!
The very snow rich winter , followed by an extremely wet spring was too much for the precautions we took to keep the basement dry.
Mercifully there is no damage inside. But with the prospect of more extreme weather due to climate charge , we thought it would be prudent to be more pro active.
It comes at a cost of course, in this case , it means probably no asphalt in front of the garage and the house for now. There go my high heel dreams!
The walls on the north -east side of the basement have been tared today , and in a few hours we can begin to put down the weeping tile and fill it up with gravel. That way we don't get a moat going , should the weather forecast come true with thunderstorms and severe weather.
Can't wait for the grosse Baggerei to start in front of the house!
Anyhow, little did I know that the grosse Baggerei would follow me home.
Here we are again , 4 years after a big renovation, which included digging down to the basement foundation, we have to do it again. Hopefully right this to time!
The very snow rich winter , followed by an extremely wet spring was too much for the precautions we took to keep the basement dry.
Mercifully there is no damage inside. But with the prospect of more extreme weather due to climate charge , we thought it would be prudent to be more pro active.
It comes at a cost of course, in this case , it means probably no asphalt in front of the garage and the house for now. There go my high heel dreams!
The walls on the north -east side of the basement have been tared today , and in a few hours we can begin to put down the weeping tile and fill it up with gravel. That way we don't get a moat going , should the weather forecast come true with thunderstorms and severe weather.
Can't wait for the grosse Baggerei to start in front of the house!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
To whom the bell tolls
To whom does the bell toll? Good question , when you are awake in the middle of the night and the bell tolls once for every 15 min and the exact number of hours every hour. Sleeplessness as a count along.
Hearing the church bells is something I so dearly miss in Canada, even if it keeps me awake at night.
I love this sound representing the passage of time . The bells are heard calling for worship, they are sound for weddings , baptisms and for burials. But they are never heard on Good Friday, as they travel to Rome to be blessed.
Hearing the bells throughout my trip ,made me belong and I felt welcome.
Who knows , may be the bells tolled for me after all.
Hearing the church bells is something I so dearly miss in Canada, even if it keeps me awake at night.
I love this sound representing the passage of time . The bells are heard calling for worship, they are sound for weddings , baptisms and for burials. But they are never heard on Good Friday, as they travel to Rome to be blessed.
Hearing the bells throughout my trip ,made me belong and I felt welcome.
Who knows , may be the bells tolled for me after all.
Grimm's Sister's Fairy Tale Week
Saturday was Rhein In Flammen! (Burning Rhine)
Talk about finishing my week in Style!
The Rhine river was closed to all commercial freight traffic and a convoy of at least 20 pleasure boats slowly wound it's way from St. Goar to Bingen to enjoy a series of firework displays done by the various communities along this stretch of the river.
We sat right on the edge of the fireworks firing area in Bingen and the most magnificent fireworks happened right above our heads. We even felt the debris rain on our heads and we smelled the gunpowder or sulfur .
The best part, that this evening started with a boat ride along the promenade to the local wife beater wearing camp ground .What joy to ride the waves and what fun to scream with each jump! We also had a lovely dinner at a local Strauss wirtschaft(seasonal wine bar and restaurant).
And that was only the last day of an unbelievable fast and event filled week.
Arrival last Sunday to Total Valley event with Blues Festival, visit at my parents grave before admission to hospital on Monday, Tuesday successful knee operation, Wednesday meeting my friend Monika stay with her for 2 days, continuous excellent recovery with good friends and good food, Friday arrival in Neuwied , visit with lots more friends and a good visit with flowers to the cemetery .
And than the before mentioned finale.
Unbelievable, fast, successful and eventful.
It felt like I was reading the story of a crazy trip to Germany, but I lived it all-what fun!
Talk about finishing my week in Style!
The Rhine river was closed to all commercial freight traffic and a convoy of at least 20 pleasure boats slowly wound it's way from St. Goar to Bingen to enjoy a series of firework displays done by the various communities along this stretch of the river.
We sat right on the edge of the fireworks firing area in Bingen and the most magnificent fireworks happened right above our heads. We even felt the debris rain on our heads and we smelled the gunpowder or sulfur .
The best part, that this evening started with a boat ride along the promenade to the local wife beater wearing camp ground .What joy to ride the waves and what fun to scream with each jump! We also had a lovely dinner at a local Strauss wirtschaft(seasonal wine bar and restaurant).
And that was only the last day of an unbelievable fast and event filled week.
Arrival last Sunday to Total Valley event with Blues Festival, visit at my parents grave before admission to hospital on Monday, Tuesday successful knee operation, Wednesday meeting my friend Monika stay with her for 2 days, continuous excellent recovery with good friends and good food, Friday arrival in Neuwied , visit with lots more friends and a good visit with flowers to the cemetery .
And than the before mentioned finale.
Unbelievable, fast, successful and eventful.
It felt like I was reading the story of a crazy trip to Germany, but I lived it all-what fun!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Germany rocks
It was the perfect day!
Not only was I greeted by sunshine upon arrival in Frankfurt, but many events took place at the same day.
Every year the tourist organizations from Koblenz to Bingen decide to close the valley for motorized traffic and cyclists and hikers rule the river valley. It is called "Tal total"-or total valley! Great to see so many people out and about and being active! The best part is, there is always a chance to a enjoy a glass of wine-my kind of sport!
At the same time , Ruedesheim hosted a bikers meet, not my kind of gig, but people congregated to this event from all over the country.
Bingen celebrated with a Blues festival, much more my speed.Sitting in the sunshine and listening to some music, surrounded by fantastic scenery-unbeatable!And again,wine is being served , that goes without saying!
The special days just kept coming, Monday was "Siebenschlaefertag" Meaning, the weather on this day sets the trend for the next 7 weeks. How cool is that! Specially, when the temperatures reached mid 30,s-super summer ahead for the Germans.
Hopefully that same rule applies for us as well,Werner told me, that we had sunshine in Alberta as well.& weeks of summer would be nice!
Next Saturday is "Rhein in Flammen"-Flaming Rhine-with fireworks and music and , did I mention this, wine!
So much fun-Germany rocks1
Not only was I greeted by sunshine upon arrival in Frankfurt, but many events took place at the same day.
Every year the tourist organizations from Koblenz to Bingen decide to close the valley for motorized traffic and cyclists and hikers rule the river valley. It is called "Tal total"-or total valley! Great to see so many people out and about and being active! The best part is, there is always a chance to a enjoy a glass of wine-my kind of sport!
At the same time , Ruedesheim hosted a bikers meet, not my kind of gig, but people congregated to this event from all over the country.
Bingen celebrated with a Blues festival, much more my speed.Sitting in the sunshine and listening to some music, surrounded by fantastic scenery-unbeatable!And again,wine is being served , that goes without saying!
The special days just kept coming, Monday was "Siebenschlaefertag" Meaning, the weather on this day sets the trend for the next 7 weeks. How cool is that! Specially, when the temperatures reached mid 30,s-super summer ahead for the Germans.
Hopefully that same rule applies for us as well,Werner told me, that we had sunshine in Alberta as well.& weeks of summer would be nice!
Next Saturday is "Rhein in Flammen"-Flaming Rhine-with fireworks and music and , did I mention this, wine!
So much fun-Germany rocks1
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Friday 13, May 15, 2011
Upon getting up on Friday I thought about nothing but breakfast and riding my bike as usual. Once I was on the road, driving to work, it occurred to me that it was Friday the 13. I decided that wasting time about it would be conjuring imagery of awful things to happen so I asked my spiritual guide to take care of it and my day went on flawlessly.
Not so at home .
Werner got the full brunt of it!
Sometime at noon , he phoned me at work to let me know, he had to go tractoring, reason being , things went from bad to worse! Wow, I had no idea, he was so exasperated, it made not much sense to me, but I knew instinctively not to ask to many questions at this point in time. Something about iron filter, flooding and septic system. Pretty nightmarish, so I decided to stay at work for a while and chose to work overtime. May be things would calm down later!
When I got home , Werner told me , better sit down, I have to tell you something. I needed I big glass of wine to better digest what was coming and I pleaded to sit outside, looking at the majestic Rocky Mountains to calm my fears.
Well, because of some problems with our iron filter, which was repaired this day,it produced a huge amount of backwash. This large amount of backwash went as usual into the septic field,as usual. Because we had some rain and lots of spring thaw from our heavy winter , the septic field was filled to capacity. We had also never pumped the field in the last years because of some errous information which made us believe that we don't have to.
Well it all, came together nicely, orchestrated just right for Friday 13.Too much inflow, too much back up of solids , a stuck valve -overflow! Come to think of it, not unlike what I do at work in cardiac surgery-ha, ha.
We waited until 8pm for the septic sucking systems operator to arrive, I always thought that was just a character on the Red Green Show, but no ,, they exist and he sucked the S... right out of our septic system!
We do need to repair the septic pump , but we are now good to go. Estimated time for the next suck up, 3 years!
Poor Werner, I felt for him, but I had to laugh, what else can you do to cope with a day like this!
Not so at home .
Werner got the full brunt of it!
Sometime at noon , he phoned me at work to let me know, he had to go tractoring, reason being , things went from bad to worse! Wow, I had no idea, he was so exasperated, it made not much sense to me, but I knew instinctively not to ask to many questions at this point in time. Something about iron filter, flooding and septic system. Pretty nightmarish, so I decided to stay at work for a while and chose to work overtime. May be things would calm down later!
When I got home , Werner told me , better sit down, I have to tell you something. I needed I big glass of wine to better digest what was coming and I pleaded to sit outside, looking at the majestic Rocky Mountains to calm my fears.
Well, because of some problems with our iron filter, which was repaired this day,it produced a huge amount of backwash. This large amount of backwash went as usual into the septic field,as usual. Because we had some rain and lots of spring thaw from our heavy winter , the septic field was filled to capacity. We had also never pumped the field in the last years because of some errous information which made us believe that we don't have to.
Well it all, came together nicely, orchestrated just right for Friday 13.Too much inflow, too much back up of solids , a stuck valve -overflow! Come to think of it, not unlike what I do at work in cardiac surgery-ha, ha.
We waited until 8pm for the septic sucking systems operator to arrive, I always thought that was just a character on the Red Green Show, but no ,, they exist and he sucked the S... right out of our septic system!
We do need to repair the septic pump , but we are now good to go. Estimated time for the next suck up, 3 years!
Poor Werner, I felt for him, but I had to laugh, what else can you do to cope with a day like this!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
the world is our legacy, April 24, 2011
Ever since little Cole has been born, I have been trying to put a finger on how my world has changed.
In a nutshell, I am not overcome by visceral maternal instincts, I think the others will be much better at that, but I see the bigger picture here, my chance to be directly involved in keeping our world habitable for future generations to come.
My husband and I have gone far beyond the usual recycling of newspapers , but have put our money where our mouth is by installing a photovoltaic system which allows to micro generate our own electricity without the use of coal fired power plants.
Due to increased drilling activity in our neighborhood, we became aware of what ails the current system of safety regulations and of the almost non existent rights of Alberta landowners , should big oil choose to drill on the land.
The problems range from noise pollution, overuse of our road structures by water trucks,lack of communication between County , ERSB, oil company and landowner,lack of disclosure of fracking fluid components and possible water shed , aquifer , or well contamination.
We became involved , my husband more actively than me, he became an out right activist with 2 groups currently involved in water awareness and drilling regulations.
At an upcoming town hall meeting I will present information about possible sub surface water pollutants and their health effects.
In the mean time , I am plainly shocked and overwhelmed the more I read about what is going on in Alberta.
Potemkin's villages come to mind, for all to see , we have the mountains, the rolling hills , the farmland, with all these lovely animals , but out of sight we have polluted rivers , clear cut forests ,metastasizing urban sprawl and polluted water wells.
Enough to spent a life time of raising awareness!
I begin to understand now, why so many activists are Elders, it is , because they have realized that they are part of generations to come and shape life and they often have the drive, the knowledge and the resources to be influential.
Not that I am an Elder yet, but my husband surely qualifies and believe me , I am on my my way to become a Matriarch to be reckoned with.
For our family, our children and future generations!
In a nutshell, I am not overcome by visceral maternal instincts, I think the others will be much better at that, but I see the bigger picture here, my chance to be directly involved in keeping our world habitable for future generations to come.
My husband and I have gone far beyond the usual recycling of newspapers , but have put our money where our mouth is by installing a photovoltaic system which allows to micro generate our own electricity without the use of coal fired power plants.
Due to increased drilling activity in our neighborhood, we became aware of what ails the current system of safety regulations and of the almost non existent rights of Alberta landowners , should big oil choose to drill on the land.
The problems range from noise pollution, overuse of our road structures by water trucks,lack of communication between County , ERSB, oil company and landowner,lack of disclosure of fracking fluid components and possible water shed , aquifer , or well contamination.
We became involved , my husband more actively than me, he became an out right activist with 2 groups currently involved in water awareness and drilling regulations.
At an upcoming town hall meeting I will present information about possible sub surface water pollutants and their health effects.
In the mean time , I am plainly shocked and overwhelmed the more I read about what is going on in Alberta.
Potemkin's villages come to mind, for all to see , we have the mountains, the rolling hills , the farmland, with all these lovely animals , but out of sight we have polluted rivers , clear cut forests ,metastasizing urban sprawl and polluted water wells.
Enough to spent a life time of raising awareness!
I begin to understand now, why so many activists are Elders, it is , because they have realized that they are part of generations to come and shape life and they often have the drive, the knowledge and the resources to be influential.
Not that I am an Elder yet, but my husband surely qualifies and believe me , I am on my my way to become a Matriarch to be reckoned with.
For our family, our children and future generations!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
on aging ,April16,2011
On this eve of my personal destruction, i.e. the eve before my 54th birthday, I sit here trying to come to terms with the fact , that as of tomorrow, I'll definitely will be mid fifties. Well, I don't like it. Not one bit! It sounds old, I am not old, at least not on the inside. Sure outside there are the tell tale signs of aging, wrinkles, some sagging in formerly perky parts and some unwanted bulges which before where definitely not there.
But usually I don't care , I wear my gray hair proudly, often in a wild mane of an unbridled beast.
I think I am still sexy, but to whom? My sedated 80 year old cardiac patients?
Where has my youth gone?
Not only am I getting officially older, I just recently had the honour to become a grandmother, now that is old right there.Old, Old Old Old.... ancient!
But I am still young ,young young young!!
Age does not matter, nor does being a grand mother or not. What counts is how I feel.
Bulls...., give me Botox, exercise, diet,a positive outlook, happiness-to hell with aging, it happens and lets stop thinking about it.
Happy birthday to myself and let me feel as old as I think I am.
But usually I don't care , I wear my gray hair proudly, often in a wild mane of an unbridled beast.
I think I am still sexy, but to whom? My sedated 80 year old cardiac patients?
Where has my youth gone?
Not only am I getting officially older, I just recently had the honour to become a grandmother, now that is old right there.Old, Old Old Old.... ancient!
But I am still young ,young young young!!
Age does not matter, nor does being a grand mother or not. What counts is how I feel.
Bulls...., give me Botox, exercise, diet,a positive outlook, happiness-to hell with aging, it happens and lets stop thinking about it.
Happy birthday to myself and let me feel as old as I think I am.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Aida, April 10, 2011
Long hiatus, bloggers block, or honestly too much work .
Yesterday we went to the long awaited premiere of Aida in Calgary. This particular production has been shown in Calgary before, but I had never seen it . My excitement was mounting , just thinking of the dramatic of the story , the music , the powerful choir ,and imagining the stage presentation.
I was not disappointed. In times , I was transported into a different world, totally absorbed by the voices of Aida , Radames and particularly the choir. The trumpets got me as well-it was wonderful !
Going to a live opera performance is such a treat and I appreciate it so much. I feel privileged to be able to buy the ticket, dress nicely, be able to afford to park the car and sit down to enjoy the event.
Many years ago I could not afford any of this.
Shortly before I left Germany I was broke from trying to pay my way out of a deceitful husbands debt-no money for cultural events by any means , and after arriving in Canada I was busy establishing my place in this new country.Now that house , retirement and a wonderful marriage are taking care of, there is time and some money for the nicer things in life , like operas.
Boy, that makes me proud !
.....and the next operatic event is already in the planning, how wonderful!
Yesterday we went to the long awaited premiere of Aida in Calgary. This particular production has been shown in Calgary before, but I had never seen it . My excitement was mounting , just thinking of the dramatic of the story , the music , the powerful choir ,and imagining the stage presentation.
I was not disappointed. In times , I was transported into a different world, totally absorbed by the voices of Aida , Radames and particularly the choir. The trumpets got me as well-it was wonderful !
Going to a live opera performance is such a treat and I appreciate it so much. I feel privileged to be able to buy the ticket, dress nicely, be able to afford to park the car and sit down to enjoy the event.
Many years ago I could not afford any of this.
Shortly before I left Germany I was broke from trying to pay my way out of a deceitful husbands debt-no money for cultural events by any means , and after arriving in Canada I was busy establishing my place in this new country.Now that house , retirement and a wonderful marriage are taking care of, there is time and some money for the nicer things in life , like operas.
Boy, that makes me proud !
.....and the next operatic event is already in the planning, how wonderful!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
memories of chernobyl
As the day of the Chernobyl disaster nears , it will be 25 years ago on April 26 , that the reactor had a core meltdown and our world suddenly became radio active!
The world watched while commandos of "volunteers ",did what they could to contain the damage and radiation.These people all succumbed to the fatal effects of radiation disease. Sadly their death did not prevent the contamination of a whole continent!
Due to unfavourable weather conditions , the radioactive clouds spread all over Europe and rained their deadly cargo onto the ground.
It was spring and plants and animals were fertile and growing.
We were told to have none of it! No eating of spring greens,picking of flowers and drinking of milk , lest we would add to the radio active exposure .
Kids were not allowed to play outside on the grass, pets activities were restricted , contaminated shoes were to be left outside and feet had to be washed off before entering the house.
The worst was , the danger was silent, has no smell and no shape.
We were all shell shocked that our lives were so gravely affected by something from so far away.
Timely and eerily, almost to the day , the world is again watching as Fukushimas 4 reactors are in grave danger to contaminate our world.
Due to my in depth experience from 25 years ago I snapped into action, iodine-check,emergency ration of uncontaminated food-check,dubious about fish from anywhere in that region-check,listening to what is not being said or minimized-check.
Conflicting messages from the authorities were the norm and nothing much has changed.assume the worst and discover happily you were wrong in the first place .Don't let your guard down.
25 years ago, I decided at some point to ignore all the dire warnings and I went to pick mushrooms which were growing untouched in large numbers.I ate them of course and now I am worried that my time is up , they say cancers can develop 20-30 years after the fact.
That is my legacy.
The world watched while commandos of "volunteers ",did what they could to contain the damage and radiation.These people all succumbed to the fatal effects of radiation disease. Sadly their death did not prevent the contamination of a whole continent!
Due to unfavourable weather conditions , the radioactive clouds spread all over Europe and rained their deadly cargo onto the ground.
It was spring and plants and animals were fertile and growing.
We were told to have none of it! No eating of spring greens,picking of flowers and drinking of milk , lest we would add to the radio active exposure .
Kids were not allowed to play outside on the grass, pets activities were restricted , contaminated shoes were to be left outside and feet had to be washed off before entering the house.
The worst was , the danger was silent, has no smell and no shape.
We were all shell shocked that our lives were so gravely affected by something from so far away.
Timely and eerily, almost to the day , the world is again watching as Fukushimas 4 reactors are in grave danger to contaminate our world.
Due to my in depth experience from 25 years ago I snapped into action, iodine-check,emergency ration of uncontaminated food-check,dubious about fish from anywhere in that region-check,listening to what is not being said or minimized-check.
Conflicting messages from the authorities were the norm and nothing much has changed.assume the worst and discover happily you were wrong in the first place .Don't let your guard down.
25 years ago, I decided at some point to ignore all the dire warnings and I went to pick mushrooms which were growing untouched in large numbers.I ate them of course and now I am worried that my time is up , they say cancers can develop 20-30 years after the fact.
That is my legacy.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Full Moon Night-Full Mourn Night
Every so often I wake up in the middle of the night and find myself in tears , having just been very close to my parents and than realizing that they are gone.
This is what came to my mind tonight.
...and at night come the memories
fragments of normal, not designed to be remembered
words spoken not intended for eternity
a touch given or received not known to be the last one
vignettes of before ,like a kaleidoscope of loss
all these memories-beyond reach
what's left is emptiness
This is what came to my mind tonight.
...and at night come the memories
fragments of normal, not designed to be remembered
words spoken not intended for eternity
a touch given or received not known to be the last one
vignettes of before ,like a kaleidoscope of loss
all these memories-beyond reach
what's left is emptiness
Monday, March 14, 2011
15 coats
As I was tidying the hall closet to make room for visitor coats , I decided to hang some of my winter coats into my other closet. There were not enough coat hangers so I needed to retrieve hangers from my tertiary closet, in order to hang up my various true winter jackets .It hit me suddenly , that I seemed to have a problem , too many coats. My guess was 10 , my count revealed 15,.....15????!!!!
Apparently I live in a country with more winter months than anything else.
The question is, should I get rid of some of those lovely coats , or keep them? Which ones should I give away?
There is my blue mohair designer coat from Montreal-absolutely no way, I'll part with that one.
My new white down coat from Vuarnet, I need it for the coldest days.
My black three quarter length down coat with leopard lining-not anytime soon.
My grey jacket with diagonal closure -far too unique to give up.
My brown and orange fake fur jacket-just right for the most dreary days during winter.
My light blue fluffy fake fur jacket-such an attention seeker, much needed when it snows and snows and snows.
My German Trachtenmantel-what am I going to wear to all the events at the Austrian Club?
My other German coat with the most beautiful fur collar -it would break my heart.
My ski jacket-dumb question.
Dad's shear ling coat-still thinking about what I could do with it.
My new winter riding jacket-stupid, it is new!
My farm down jacket-ideal for chores with cats and horses and Italian designer to boot.
My old farm down jacket- I love it.
Mom's fur jacket- can't part with that one.
My when it is not so cold riding jacket- what else am I going to wear on those days?
It is probably easiest to make this decision when it is warmer, so let's wait a while.
But , come to think of it, my old golden farm jacket has had a good and full filled life, let's say good bye and retire it to Good Will.
But none of the others can go, I need every one of them to express my need for warmth , or to externalize my feelings .
And to think, other people collect shoes- hard to comprehend!( I own enough of those as well and still don't seem to have the right ones available.)
Apparently I live in a country with more winter months than anything else.
The question is, should I get rid of some of those lovely coats , or keep them? Which ones should I give away?
There is my blue mohair designer coat from Montreal-absolutely no way, I'll part with that one.
My new white down coat from Vuarnet, I need it for the coldest days.
My black three quarter length down coat with leopard lining-not anytime soon.
My grey jacket with diagonal closure -far too unique to give up.
My brown and orange fake fur jacket-just right for the most dreary days during winter.
My light blue fluffy fake fur jacket-such an attention seeker, much needed when it snows and snows and snows.
My German Trachtenmantel-what am I going to wear to all the events at the Austrian Club?
My other German coat with the most beautiful fur collar -it would break my heart.
My ski jacket-dumb question.
Dad's shear ling coat-still thinking about what I could do with it.
My new winter riding jacket-stupid, it is new!
My farm down jacket-ideal for chores with cats and horses and Italian designer to boot.
My old farm down jacket- I love it.
Mom's fur jacket- can't part with that one.
My when it is not so cold riding jacket- what else am I going to wear on those days?
It is probably easiest to make this decision when it is warmer, so let's wait a while.
But , come to think of it, my old golden farm jacket has had a good and full filled life, let's say good bye and retire it to Good Will.
But none of the others can go, I need every one of them to express my need for warmth , or to externalize my feelings .
And to think, other people collect shoes- hard to comprehend!( I own enough of those as well and still don't seem to have the right ones available.)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Homesick
Sadly, there are a few occasions when I am homesick for Germany.
Many are of private nature, as parents birthdays and their days of passing, but some are absolutely frivolous like Carnival and New Years Eve.
What would I give for another New Years Eve party with dinner , dance and followed by watching the fireworks at midnight.Scare away the bad spirits and welcome the new year. It appears that here in Canada are allowed to linger and create havoc for as long as they want. Good example , look at the current state of politics . Harper could have easily been scared away with the right amount of fireworks and rejoicing!
Yesterday was Rosenmontag , the main event in a series of special occasions during the time of carnival which starts on 11.11 at 11:11in Germany.Note in Canada this day is Remembrance day, starting on 11.11 at 11:11.
How much more dreary can it possibly be?
Rosenmontag is dedicated to showing parades everywhere , with floats displaying witty, tongue in cheek ways of day to day events of political, religious and sexual nature.People attend to have a good time, which involves singing along, dancing on the streets , throwing of candy and perhaps the odd glass of beer being consumed. Yes, candies are being thrown, without danger of being sued, if you see a candy flying at you, just duck, that is all there is to it.
However , Prinz Werner and Prinzessin Heike took matters in their own hands and created the setting.
We sat out on our porch and pretended to take in the "Zuch"(the parade).
We had our own Prinzengarde, die Schwarzweissen Funken , (our black and white cats ) to honour our presence and songs from the carnival in Cologne were playing in the background.
The Gewurztraminer went down nicely, while we reminisced about fun carnival memories.
As always , we had more fun pretending than we anticipated and the day ended with a tear or two for not being where the action is and some Kamelle (candies ) to soothe the pain.
Many are of private nature, as parents birthdays and their days of passing, but some are absolutely frivolous like Carnival and New Years Eve.
What would I give for another New Years Eve party with dinner , dance and followed by watching the fireworks at midnight.Scare away the bad spirits and welcome the new year. It appears that here in Canada are allowed to linger and create havoc for as long as they want. Good example , look at the current state of politics . Harper could have easily been scared away with the right amount of fireworks and rejoicing!
Yesterday was Rosenmontag , the main event in a series of special occasions during the time of carnival which starts on 11.11 at 11:11in Germany.Note in Canada this day is Remembrance day, starting on 11.11 at 11:11.
How much more dreary can it possibly be?
Rosenmontag is dedicated to showing parades everywhere , with floats displaying witty, tongue in cheek ways of day to day events of political, religious and sexual nature.People attend to have a good time, which involves singing along, dancing on the streets , throwing of candy and perhaps the odd glass of beer being consumed. Yes, candies are being thrown, without danger of being sued, if you see a candy flying at you, just duck, that is all there is to it.
However , Prinz Werner and Prinzessin Heike took matters in their own hands and created the setting.
We sat out on our porch and pretended to take in the "Zuch"(the parade).
We had our own Prinzengarde, die Schwarzweissen Funken , (our black and white cats ) to honour our presence and songs from the carnival in Cologne were playing in the background.
The Gewurztraminer went down nicely, while we reminisced about fun carnival memories.
As always , we had more fun pretending than we anticipated and the day ended with a tear or two for not being where the action is and some Kamelle (candies ) to soothe the pain.
My blog is being read
Wow, I talked to my friend Bettina the other day , who was all enthusiastic about my blog. Great, getting compliments is nice.
It really hit me only later, my blog is being read!
For some reason, I imagined myself inside this velvety secure cave , surrounded by my attempts of literary greatness, as the hermit from Horsecreek road in her rotatable writing hut, free after Bernhard Shaw(more about that on some later entry)
Readers were never part of this fantasy.
How odd of me to not consider this part of the equation-on a blog no less!
It took me weeks to resume writing, because I felt I had to consider my readership!
Well, I am back , inconsiderate and uninhibited where I left off.
It really hit me only later, my blog is being read!
For some reason, I imagined myself inside this velvety secure cave , surrounded by my attempts of literary greatness, as the hermit from Horsecreek road in her rotatable writing hut, free after Bernhard Shaw(more about that on some later entry)
Readers were never part of this fantasy.
How odd of me to not consider this part of the equation-on a blog no less!
It took me weeks to resume writing, because I felt I had to consider my readership!
Well, I am back , inconsiderate and uninhibited where I left off.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
February 13,2011 Flobert
Today is a very special day for me.
Chris is going to bring my father's gun home and I am going to shoot it again. This is so exciting!
Getting the gun to Canada was not without challenges.
It started in Germany , with Dad telling me, that the gun was not registered. So when Dad moved to the nursing home, I suddenly had a non registered and therefore illegal gun on my hands. No chance to bring it to Canada!
My Cousin was kind enough to grant safe storage for the weapon , until I knew what to do with it.
There was never time to deal with Dad's gun while he was still alive and so I kind of forgot about it.
After Dad's passing and my subsequent grief , I went through some of his paperwork and found, guess what? The gun registration! All the angst, for nothing.
My relief was of short duration, the city of Neuwied was hot on my heals to find the whereabouts of Herr Kretschmers weapon.
My cousin and I talked it through and I forwarded his address to the city.
Because it took a while for Chris to find out, what rules and regulations to gun import from Germany applied, the German police got involved and hunted my cousin down.
He is now known to them as a unregistered gun owner. The horror of it all.
He was however able to ship the gun to Chris , who as a hunter and my stepson, was able to claim ownership .
The gun arrived Wednesday.
My cousin will be so relieved , that he is again an innocent man in the eyes of the law. Chris just need to provide him with a paper , stating the arrival here in Canada.
The best part today is not , that the gun is coming to me, but what I am planning to do with it.
Chris will find out today that he is going to be the official heir to this weapon.
He and my Dad hit it off when they met and I am sure Dad would love for him to own his Flobert.It makes me happy to give Chris something which connects him to my family and particularly to my Dad.
The only caveat is, I want to shoot it every once in awhile!
Chris is going to bring my father's gun home and I am going to shoot it again. This is so exciting!
Getting the gun to Canada was not without challenges.
It started in Germany , with Dad telling me, that the gun was not registered. So when Dad moved to the nursing home, I suddenly had a non registered and therefore illegal gun on my hands. No chance to bring it to Canada!
My Cousin was kind enough to grant safe storage for the weapon , until I knew what to do with it.
There was never time to deal with Dad's gun while he was still alive and so I kind of forgot about it.
After Dad's passing and my subsequent grief , I went through some of his paperwork and found, guess what? The gun registration! All the angst, for nothing.
My relief was of short duration, the city of Neuwied was hot on my heals to find the whereabouts of Herr Kretschmers weapon.
My cousin and I talked it through and I forwarded his address to the city.
Because it took a while for Chris to find out, what rules and regulations to gun import from Germany applied, the German police got involved and hunted my cousin down.
He is now known to them as a unregistered gun owner. The horror of it all.
He was however able to ship the gun to Chris , who as a hunter and my stepson, was able to claim ownership .
The gun arrived Wednesday.
My cousin will be so relieved , that he is again an innocent man in the eyes of the law. Chris just need to provide him with a paper , stating the arrival here in Canada.
The best part today is not , that the gun is coming to me, but what I am planning to do with it.
Chris will find out today that he is going to be the official heir to this weapon.
He and my Dad hit it off when they met and I am sure Dad would love for him to own his Flobert.It makes me happy to give Chris something which connects him to my family and particularly to my Dad.
The only caveat is, I want to shoot it every once in awhile!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
February 12,2011 My Favourite Patient
It was about 3 years ago, that we lost a patient suffering from pulmonary embolism in the Cardiac OR. This patient was not only a fellow skier, but also a fellow German. The same night, another skier arrived in the cath lab , after suffering from cardiac arrest at the bottom of a ski hill.He was also from Germany and I was told , that he did not speak any English.
Next day , I went to see him , just in case he needed some one to phone his family.
It was deemed , that he needed coronary artery bypass grafting and I helped the surgeon to obtain consent. I stayed on, to explain in more detail, what would happen during the operation.
After his surgery was scheduled, I promised to attend him in the OR , to alleviate his fears.
During his recovery I made sure to visit him , every day . German newspapers, the odd piece of cake and later some real good cup of coffee, where little treats I brought to brighten his day.
We talked a lot and decided to stay in contact , even after , his surgeon released him to go back home to Germany.
Colourful postcards started arriving with news of his remarkable recovery from all over Germany .With it , his wish to meet during one my frequent visits in Germany.
After some long deliberation I agreed and I am thankful I did. He told me , how profoundly his meeting me during his touch with death had changed his life. After receiving all the encouragement from a stranger like me, he decided to change his life. He became less selfish and shared his good fortunes with less fortunate people. He reconciled with his family. He changed for a healthy lifestyle , quit smoking and started to eat healthier.
He believed in kindness again!
Sadly, he passed away in his sleep, 2 years after his first arrest, only 67 years old.
Meeting him, gave me the incredible opportunity to see first hand what impact my long hours of work in the cardiac OR can have. I cherish every conversation I had with this patient and it made me appreciate how truly wonderful it is to work as a nurse.
Next day , I went to see him , just in case he needed some one to phone his family.
It was deemed , that he needed coronary artery bypass grafting and I helped the surgeon to obtain consent. I stayed on, to explain in more detail, what would happen during the operation.
After his surgery was scheduled, I promised to attend him in the OR , to alleviate his fears.
During his recovery I made sure to visit him , every day . German newspapers, the odd piece of cake and later some real good cup of coffee, where little treats I brought to brighten his day.
We talked a lot and decided to stay in contact , even after , his surgeon released him to go back home to Germany.
Colourful postcards started arriving with news of his remarkable recovery from all over Germany .With it , his wish to meet during one my frequent visits in Germany.
After some long deliberation I agreed and I am thankful I did. He told me , how profoundly his meeting me during his touch with death had changed his life. After receiving all the encouragement from a stranger like me, he decided to change his life. He became less selfish and shared his good fortunes with less fortunate people. He reconciled with his family. He changed for a healthy lifestyle , quit smoking and started to eat healthier.
He believed in kindness again!
Sadly, he passed away in his sleep, 2 years after his first arrest, only 67 years old.
Meeting him, gave me the incredible opportunity to see first hand what impact my long hours of work in the cardiac OR can have. I cherish every conversation I had with this patient and it made me appreciate how truly wonderful it is to work as a nurse.
Friday, February 11, 2011
February11,2011 My Dad
Today is my Dad's birthday. Sadly , he left me October 26 , 2009, but he is forever in my heart!
Because of his work as a skipper on a German freight ship on the rivers and canals of central Europe I only had my Dad around when I was a child , before I went to school at age 6 and later on during holidays , when I was able to convince Mom that I wanted to be on the boat with Dad. All the other times , he was away working to provide for his family.
Oh, how I missed him while growing up!
Dad and I always had a special bond, I was Daddy's girl and I adored everything he did and I wanted to learn it all.
Mom was devoted to my half sister in the other part of Germany and she spend her energy to provide for her.
I remember sitting on Dad's lap while he spend hours driving the boat on the rivers . Pretty soon, I drove the boat as well , under his supervision of course.
He built me a play pen in front of the bridge on the boat , he gave me the biggest sand box a child could ask for , by letting me play in one of the freight compartments filled with sand.
He built me a swimming pool on the shore of a river , so I could play in the water, without being swept away from the current.
He showed me how to fish, preferably, without a license , which caused some interesting run ins with the river guards.
He taught me to shoot his Flobert and I remember the demise of a good number of rats. More about this particular gun at a later date.
When I was older, I actually earned money driving the boat for him .While he was in the galley to eat, I was proud to be able stear clear of all sorts of obstacles in the water and I also managed to overtake slower boats without a flaw. He was proud when Iwas able to do this and amused when I also copied his pendant to swear like a Rhine skipper(Rheinschiffer).
When I was even older I supported him even more.
Dad was never someone who drank a lot of alcohol, he plainly could not handle more than a few beer. One day Christmas , he was invited to the neighbours to help decorate the tree!!!. Where I grew up, that meant, one schnapps per ornament! Well, Dad arrived pretty wasted early afternoon at Christmas eve and my Mom was not amused. She was actually outraged and she let him have it. Poor Dad, he only wanted to be sick and than sleep it off. Of course , I helped him and made him comfortable and defended him with Mom.Somehow, the festivities for that evening were severely subdued. No matter, Dad was home , and I was excited!
Many years later, during one of my many visits from Canada , Dad and I took a trip to the Christkindl market in Nuremberg and we had a wonderful time. We ate, drank beer for lunch, smoked some forbidden cigarettes and shopped for lovely Christmas memorabilia. To this day , I still cherish all those mementos!
In his later years he selflessly devoted his life and his health to my mothers well being , who needed 24 /7 care until she suddenly passed on.
It was than, that I invited Dad to check out our place in Cochrane and perhaps see, if he would like to come and live with my husband and I.
It was not to be. His own health problems rendered him so helpless , that I had to make the difficult decision to find a place in a home for him.
From than on, we talked daily on the phone and I managed to visit at least twice a year. Whenever there was a crisis, I was there for him. Despite all his ailments he was able to visit us Christmas 2008 and he finally visited my new home with Werner. He loved it and I was proud to show Dad off to my new family.
He loved my attention and I loved giving him all my love.
His loss left an empty space in my life which I try to fill with as many memories of him, as I can.
I love you Dad.
Because of his work as a skipper on a German freight ship on the rivers and canals of central Europe I only had my Dad around when I was a child , before I went to school at age 6 and later on during holidays , when I was able to convince Mom that I wanted to be on the boat with Dad. All the other times , he was away working to provide for his family.
Oh, how I missed him while growing up!
Dad and I always had a special bond, I was Daddy's girl and I adored everything he did and I wanted to learn it all.
Mom was devoted to my half sister in the other part of Germany and she spend her energy to provide for her.
I remember sitting on Dad's lap while he spend hours driving the boat on the rivers . Pretty soon, I drove the boat as well , under his supervision of course.
He built me a play pen in front of the bridge on the boat , he gave me the biggest sand box a child could ask for , by letting me play in one of the freight compartments filled with sand.
He built me a swimming pool on the shore of a river , so I could play in the water, without being swept away from the current.
He showed me how to fish, preferably, without a license , which caused some interesting run ins with the river guards.
He taught me to shoot his Flobert and I remember the demise of a good number of rats. More about this particular gun at a later date.
When I was older, I actually earned money driving the boat for him .While he was in the galley to eat, I was proud to be able stear clear of all sorts of obstacles in the water and I also managed to overtake slower boats without a flaw. He was proud when Iwas able to do this and amused when I also copied his pendant to swear like a Rhine skipper(Rheinschiffer).
When I was even older I supported him even more.
Dad was never someone who drank a lot of alcohol, he plainly could not handle more than a few beer. One day Christmas , he was invited to the neighbours to help decorate the tree!!!. Where I grew up, that meant, one schnapps per ornament! Well, Dad arrived pretty wasted early afternoon at Christmas eve and my Mom was not amused. She was actually outraged and she let him have it. Poor Dad, he only wanted to be sick and than sleep it off. Of course , I helped him and made him comfortable and defended him with Mom.Somehow, the festivities for that evening were severely subdued. No matter, Dad was home , and I was excited!
Many years later, during one of my many visits from Canada , Dad and I took a trip to the Christkindl market in Nuremberg and we had a wonderful time. We ate, drank beer for lunch, smoked some forbidden cigarettes and shopped for lovely Christmas memorabilia. To this day , I still cherish all those mementos!
In his later years he selflessly devoted his life and his health to my mothers well being , who needed 24 /7 care until she suddenly passed on.
It was than, that I invited Dad to check out our place in Cochrane and perhaps see, if he would like to come and live with my husband and I.
It was not to be. His own health problems rendered him so helpless , that I had to make the difficult decision to find a place in a home for him.
From than on, we talked daily on the phone and I managed to visit at least twice a year. Whenever there was a crisis, I was there for him. Despite all his ailments he was able to visit us Christmas 2008 and he finally visited my new home with Werner. He loved it and I was proud to show Dad off to my new family.
He loved my attention and I loved giving him all my love.
His loss left an empty space in my life which I try to fill with as many memories of him, as I can.
I love you Dad.
February 10,2011 Hochzeitstag
Unique, 'cause to be in love on my 4th wedding anniversary has never happened before. What a wonderful feeling to wake up in the morning and to realize, that I love the man beside me and I am married to him . To know, that I can spend as much time with him as I want, And to know , that he loves me back and cherishes the time with me as much as I cherish my time with him. As if life only started , when we met. And life keeps getting better every day!
I am proud of my husband and proud to be his wife!
I am proud of my husband and proud to be his wife!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
February5,2011 What is exciting?
Having been either sick with a killer cold or unable to move because of a knee injury has certainly tied me down on many levels.
When I decided to do something new and /or exiting everyday this year,I did not realize, that that almost all the time included movement and activity.Motion to me seems to be the great initiator for creativity and Unternehmungslust.
Is being active the key to turn on my brain?
Never have I felt so sluggish than in the last weeks. Obviously , I am surviving , but barely.
On the contrary, I am regressing.
Catching myself going into retro thinking , mourning my parents ,revisiting conversations I should have avoided or changed in the past.
Navel gazing is all I am doing , to what result?
The most exiting thing for today is , to go on a "dump date" with Werner and later finally bottle my wine.
interspersed throughout the day, I'll lubricate my brain with some exercise on my bike , but I'll be off the treadmill for now, 'cause my knee can't take it.
Let's hope the wine is good , just in case the cycle kick start for my brain is not enough!
When I decided to do something new and /or exiting everyday this year,I did not realize, that that almost all the time included movement and activity.Motion to me seems to be the great initiator for creativity and Unternehmungslust.
Is being active the key to turn on my brain?
Never have I felt so sluggish than in the last weeks. Obviously , I am surviving , but barely.
On the contrary, I am regressing.
Catching myself going into retro thinking , mourning my parents ,revisiting conversations I should have avoided or changed in the past.
Navel gazing is all I am doing , to what result?
The most exiting thing for today is , to go on a "dump date" with Werner and later finally bottle my wine.
interspersed throughout the day, I'll lubricate my brain with some exercise on my bike , but I'll be off the treadmill for now, 'cause my knee can't take it.
Let's hope the wine is good , just in case the cycle kick start for my brain is not enough!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
February 3,2011-Fasting
Sounds like Fasching , ist es aber nicht!
According to my Moon Calender, today is a perfect day for Fasting! According to me , it is a perfect day for gummibears-many of them, until I get a "good" bellyache!
According to my challenges with Live Right Now, I should continue to eat healthy(fresh vegetables), give up a vice (this week wine and chocolate)and exercise(10 000 steps).
Okay,fresh fruit for breakfast with some nuts , salad for lunch with tuna, lots of H2O(another one of those LRN challenges)and some raw vegetables and fruit with chicken for supper. Interspersed throughout the day whatever little exercise I can do with my bum knee, 10 min spinning, 10 min walking without limping on the treadmill, 10 min spinning, some light weights and so on.
Is it a fast, not quite, but I hope the moon support is enough to get me through today.
According to my Moon Calender, today is a perfect day for Fasting! According to me , it is a perfect day for gummibears-many of them, until I get a "good" bellyache!
According to my challenges with Live Right Now, I should continue to eat healthy(fresh vegetables), give up a vice (this week wine and chocolate)and exercise(10 000 steps).
Okay,fresh fruit for breakfast with some nuts , salad for lunch with tuna, lots of H2O(another one of those LRN challenges)and some raw vegetables and fruit with chicken for supper. Interspersed throughout the day whatever little exercise I can do with my bum knee, 10 min spinning, 10 min walking without limping on the treadmill, 10 min spinning, some light weights and so on.
Is it a fast, not quite, but I hope the moon support is enough to get me through today.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
January29,2011
The end of my fund raising campaign for the Heart and Stroke Foundation has finally come. Ski for Heart in Lake Louise is reality.
Lucky for all the skiers , we had a nice snowfall , but the traffic chaos on the roads did not harm or deter anybody.
Sadly, due to my unlucky dance moves, I could only watch with envy while every body else enjoyed themselves in the snow.
Well there was yoga(or some modification of it) , a little walk to see the ice sculptures and socializing, so I was well entertained.
The best part of this weekend was the evening gala. Nice banquet, speeches and live music.
The Libin Team , which I belonged to , won first price for team effort and we got a trophy.Excellent!( The Libin Institute is our cardiovascular institute at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary)
And than I got a trophy as well, I was one of the top 10 fund raisers!Outstanding!
Never before have I ever won a trophy for anything, I am very proud and motivated to do this fundraiser again next year.
Lucky for all the skiers , we had a nice snowfall , but the traffic chaos on the roads did not harm or deter anybody.
Sadly, due to my unlucky dance moves, I could only watch with envy while every body else enjoyed themselves in the snow.
Well there was yoga(or some modification of it) , a little walk to see the ice sculptures and socializing, so I was well entertained.
The best part of this weekend was the evening gala. Nice banquet, speeches and live music.
The Libin Team , which I belonged to , won first price for team effort and we got a trophy.Excellent!( The Libin Institute is our cardiovascular institute at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary)
And than I got a trophy as well, I was one of the top 10 fund raisers!Outstanding!
Never before have I ever won a trophy for anything, I am very proud and motivated to do this fundraiser again next year.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
January 27,2011 Suntanning
Not having a title to my blogs has bugged me for some time, so today I'll start given my blogs names.
It is the 27th of January and yes , I have been sitting out for half an hour to enjoy the sun.
It felt luxurious sitting there, with a blanket across my knees , reading a magazine and watching cats and birds sharing this moment of peaceful coexistence.
Thanks for days like this .
It is the 27th of January and yes , I have been sitting out for half an hour to enjoy the sun.
It felt luxurious sitting there, with a blanket across my knees , reading a magazine and watching cats and birds sharing this moment of peaceful coexistence.
Thanks for days like this .
January 26,2011
We are now officially "Micro Generators"
Amazing, to think that all our planing, Werner's tireless research and our ability to come up with the money to finance the project, has finally come to fruition.
All the hours of various kind of prep work, i.e. drilling the holes for the cement anchors, cutting the metal for the scaffold to size,painting the pieces, welding it all together ,coordinating the work with the installer , the energy supply company and the inspector. The short days and long nights of winter made for a long wait.
Lucky for us, since we implemented the grid portion of our pv system , we have been graced with sunny weather.
What a good feeling to know, that we have reached one of our goals .
Amazing, to think that all our planing, Werner's tireless research and our ability to come up with the money to finance the project, has finally come to fruition.
All the hours of various kind of prep work, i.e. drilling the holes for the cement anchors, cutting the metal for the scaffold to size,painting the pieces, welding it all together ,coordinating the work with the installer , the energy supply company and the inspector. The short days and long nights of winter made for a long wait.
Lucky for us, since we implemented the grid portion of our pv system , we have been graced with sunny weather.
What a good feeling to know, that we have reached one of our goals .
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
January24,2011
Adendum
sun rays-powerful portions of bundled energy
traveling through our solar system
to be used by us
we can see colours ,plants grow, we have oxygen and nitrogen
and now we can harvest electrical energy in our front yard
hold me , I am swaying
What a day!
sun rays-powerful portions of bundled energy
traveling through our solar system
to be used by us
we can see colours ,plants grow, we have oxygen and nitrogen
and now we can harvest electrical energy in our front yard
hold me , I am swaying
What a day!
Monday, January 24, 2011
January 23,2011
Dancing with dead people is dangerous!
At least, when I am involved!
The housewarming party at my friends house was a great success. Of course not everybody attended, but that is always to be expected.
We, the attendees had a wonderful evening.
Because we are more scientific than artistic, we had a lot double dead identities.
Jesus1x
Amelia Earhard 2x
Coco Chanel 2x
Jackie O 2x
Count Dracula 1x
Paul Bunion 2x
Albert Einstein 1x
Farrah Fawcett 1x
The Ghost of Christmas Past 1x
Audrey Hepburn 1x
Some others , whose costume I sadly forgot.
We had fun, lots of good food and lots of wine and a DJ.
So we danced and oh how I enjoyed that.....until I heard a distinct rip in my knee and it became painfull to even walk. I tore a ligament!
So, dancing with dead people is dangerous!
Back on the couch . More musings to come.
At least, when I am involved!
The housewarming party at my friends house was a great success. Of course not everybody attended, but that is always to be expected.
We, the attendees had a wonderful evening.
Because we are more scientific than artistic, we had a lot double dead identities.
Jesus1x
Amelia Earhard 2x
Coco Chanel 2x
Jackie O 2x
Count Dracula 1x
Paul Bunion 2x
Albert Einstein 1x
Farrah Fawcett 1x
The Ghost of Christmas Past 1x
Audrey Hepburn 1x
Some others , whose costume I sadly forgot.
We had fun, lots of good food and lots of wine and a DJ.
So we danced and oh how I enjoyed that.....until I heard a distinct rip in my knee and it became painfull to even walk. I tore a ligament!
So, dancing with dead people is dangerous!
Back on the couch . More musings to come.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
January22,2011
Cleaning,
Not new , not unusual, but every speck of dirt is new every time.
Where does dirt come from? Dust travels far, and they found dust specks from the Sahara desert in the Eastern states of the USA.That makes me wonder, where does our dust come from?
Just from the outside, far to trivial for me!
The northern most sand dunes of the world are in northern Saskatchewan.May be from there?
But our wind patterns are not usually from east to west.
My theory , of course completely unfounded by research, is, we have glacial silt in our house, which travels from far up north. Imagine the melting glaciers, the uncovering of very old sediments which had previously been encased in the ice.
So while cleaning, I am uncovering historic particles.Wow, very careful now, I remove them from our house and bring them outside , to be send away on their journey around the world.
A trivial task being made special!
I love it!
Not new , not unusual, but every speck of dirt is new every time.
Where does dirt come from? Dust travels far, and they found dust specks from the Sahara desert in the Eastern states of the USA.That makes me wonder, where does our dust come from?
Just from the outside, far to trivial for me!
The northern most sand dunes of the world are in northern Saskatchewan.May be from there?
But our wind patterns are not usually from east to west.
My theory , of course completely unfounded by research, is, we have glacial silt in our house, which travels from far up north. Imagine the melting glaciers, the uncovering of very old sediments which had previously been encased in the ice.
So while cleaning, I am uncovering historic particles.Wow, very careful now, I remove them from our house and bring them outside , to be send away on their journey around the world.
A trivial task being made special!
I love it!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
January20,2011
Oh new years resolutions!I kept watching the days go by and I was in no shape to write anything due to illness and work. There was only so much energy available and something had to give.
However , I had plenty of time to muse. What was I musing about, why , dead people of course. The reason for these musings is an invite to my friends bash at Cemetery hill, she just moved there and the her first party's slogan is , come as your favorite dead person, no relatives.
There are many to choose from, for we have more dead people than alive . But who to choose.
What statement do I want to make?Outrageous, political, historical. Werner's advise was, stay away from Hitler, even the prince did not get away with it.
I decided on a heroine and Amelia Earhard came to mind, German heroes might not all that well know here in North America, so why bother , if I have to constantly explain, starting with Adam and Eve.
American heroine here I come! I admired Amelia's guts for having done all her flying in this male dominated world.Little Lindy!! She showed gut lost her life .
The costume is great as well, knee high boots, riding breeches , bomber jacket, goggles and pilots cap.
Except, another friend of mine is going as Amelia as well. To hell with Amelia, German hero here I come, and it is going to be a memorable night of being Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Baron!
It is really all about the flying!-and the fun!
However , I had plenty of time to muse. What was I musing about, why , dead people of course. The reason for these musings is an invite to my friends bash at Cemetery hill, she just moved there and the her first party's slogan is , come as your favorite dead person, no relatives.
There are many to choose from, for we have more dead people than alive . But who to choose.
What statement do I want to make?Outrageous, political, historical. Werner's advise was, stay away from Hitler, even the prince did not get away with it.
I decided on a heroine and Amelia Earhard came to mind, German heroes might not all that well know here in North America, so why bother , if I have to constantly explain, starting with Adam and Eve.
American heroine here I come! I admired Amelia's guts for having done all her flying in this male dominated world.Little Lindy!! She showed gut lost her life .
The costume is great as well, knee high boots, riding breeches , bomber jacket, goggles and pilots cap.
Except, another friend of mine is going as Amelia as well. To hell with Amelia, German hero here I come, and it is going to be a memorable night of being Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Baron!
It is really all about the flying!-and the fun!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
January 13,2011
To think , that I would be in bed and out of commission,unusual. All my healthy lifestyle and healthy food did nothing to prevent this stupid cold. My chest feels raw and in the evenings my breathing feels asthmatic, cause I can hardly exhale.Let's deal with this by ignoring it, you are not the boss of me you stupid cold.
Hard to find something to write about when my input is so limited.
So I watched our single deer which has taken up residence in front of our barn, It sleeps right beside some hay bales on some old hay and loves hanging out with the cats. It is often, that I see at least one cat right beside the deer on top of a bale. Yesterday the deer walked around the periphery of the house to check out some other food options. The bird feeder was definitely a major attraction, but out of reach. So off it went for a little snack of grass in front of our living room before retiring at it's favorite resting place.
How precious to have the opportunity and be able to take the time to get to know a wild animal by watching it's daily routines.
Another day in paradise-still special and unusual after about 4 years of living here.
Hard to find something to write about when my input is so limited.
So I watched our single deer which has taken up residence in front of our barn, It sleeps right beside some hay bales on some old hay and loves hanging out with the cats. It is often, that I see at least one cat right beside the deer on top of a bale. Yesterday the deer walked around the periphery of the house to check out some other food options. The bird feeder was definitely a major attraction, but out of reach. So off it went for a little snack of grass in front of our living room before retiring at it's favorite resting place.
How precious to have the opportunity and be able to take the time to get to know a wild animal by watching it's daily routines.
Another day in paradise-still special and unusual after about 4 years of living here.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 11,2011
Still sick, it bugs me to be so sick, why me, always taking care of enough sleep, good food,vitamins and flu shots, why ?
Hildegard von Bingen, Freier Atem Tee hilft!
Back to sleep now
Hildegard von Bingen, Freier Atem Tee hilft!
Back to sleep now
Monday, January 10, 2011
January9,2011
Down with headache, cough and general lousy feelings,Make that a day in bed, lots of sleep and fluids.
January8,2011
Managed to get my car stuck in a snowdrift in our driveway. Going in , not leaving, that is a first. Werner pulled me out with the tractor and plowed the way for me.
Starting to feel ill, just like everybody else.
Starting to feel ill, just like everybody else.
January 7,2011
Getting ready for a night in town with girl friends. Unusual, cause I get to stay at C- new condo, without being on call.
'We had a fun evening , dinner was so so, don't go to Hotel Arts Raw Bar for a good meal, but expect to pay for one nevertheless.
However undeterred we checked some other hangouts , only to find, that Calgary is pretty dead on a Friday night.Good old R&C, still a nice fall back if all fails.
A party theme was born,come to C- party on Cementarylane as your favorite dead person, no relatives aloud.
They want me to be Hitler, I'd rather be Marlene Dietrich.
What fun!
'We had a fun evening , dinner was so so, don't go to Hotel Arts Raw Bar for a good meal, but expect to pay for one nevertheless.
However undeterred we checked some other hangouts , only to find, that Calgary is pretty dead on a Friday night.Good old R&C, still a nice fall back if all fails.
A party theme was born,come to C- party on Cementarylane as your favorite dead person, no relatives aloud.
They want me to be Hitler, I'd rather be Marlene Dietrich.
What fun!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
January6,2011
moon calender
As a special treat, I bought last year , while vacationing in Germany, a "moon calender"
It deals with the belief that the power of the moon influences the tides,more babies are being born during full moon and that many people notice the influence of the waxing and waning moon on themselves and their surroundings.
I started the year with some quick glances for the moon activities.Dismissed the suggestion to clean windows on New Years day, but aired the house according to the calenders suggestions.
According to today I should do a thorough housecleaning-I halfheartedly changed the linens and did some laundry.I'll leave the cleaning for tomorrow , which mercifully is still an excellent day for house keeping duties.
Let's see in what way my following the moon makes my life more full filling.
As a special treat, I bought last year , while vacationing in Germany, a "moon calender"
It deals with the belief that the power of the moon influences the tides,more babies are being born during full moon and that many people notice the influence of the waxing and waning moon on themselves and their surroundings.
I started the year with some quick glances for the moon activities.Dismissed the suggestion to clean windows on New Years day, but aired the house according to the calenders suggestions.
According to today I should do a thorough housecleaning-I halfheartedly changed the linens and did some laundry.I'll leave the cleaning for tomorrow , which mercifully is still an excellent day for house keeping duties.
Let's see in what way my following the moon makes my life more full filling.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
January 5, 2011
Nothing new today , but still unusual even for me.
Scrubbed all day, that is from 7:25 until 17:50 , yes, 10,5 hours for a redo aortic valve replacement with replacement of portion of ascending aorta . Total exercise of self control with the added benefit of helping a gravely ill patient to a second chance in life.
Feeling tired and proud , patient was well when I left the hospital.
How boring to mention work, but it is a huge part of my life.
Scrubbed all day, that is from 7:25 until 17:50 , yes, 10,5 hours for a redo aortic valve replacement with replacement of portion of ascending aorta . Total exercise of self control with the added benefit of helping a gravely ill patient to a second chance in life.
Feeling tired and proud , patient was well when I left the hospital.
How boring to mention work, but it is a huge part of my life.
January4, 2011
New words in a new year.
Not that this is new to me, but it just never came up in this context.So here it is, and I savour each word.
I stayed at my stepson and my daughter in laws house overnight.
Get it?
I have no natural children and to be able to now have a son, a daughter and a daughter in law is a blessing which I cherish.Oh, blessed late second or third marriages.
For future reference , I would like to skip the pesky "step"business , it's my children now as well. Thank you Werner.
Not that this is new to me, but it just never came up in this context.So here it is, and I savour each word.
I stayed at my stepson and my daughter in laws house overnight.
Get it?
I have no natural children and to be able to now have a son, a daughter and a daughter in law is a blessing which I cherish.Oh, blessed late second or third marriages.
For future reference , I would like to skip the pesky "step"business , it's my children now as well. Thank you Werner.
Monday, January 3, 2011
January3,2011
Trying to do this right,first do it, than post it.
Not plan it, write and not do it.
Todays new experince was, painting.
I had not done this for years and for some reason , I thought I would just go right down to it and start where I left off many years ago. No such luck! It feels as if I have no talent left and I found that surprising because I had wanted to be a ceramic artist after I finished school.
What I loved about the experience was the quiet, that came over me and the feeling of complete absorption to the task at hand. So really, whether my painting is good or bad is not the point, but what seems to be most important is the joy I got out of it.
Not plan it, write and not do it.
Todays new experince was, painting.
I had not done this for years and for some reason , I thought I would just go right down to it and start where I left off many years ago. No such luck! It feels as if I have no talent left and I found that surprising because I had wanted to be a ceramic artist after I finished school.
What I loved about the experience was the quiet, that came over me and the feeling of complete absorption to the task at hand. So really, whether my painting is good or bad is not the point, but what seems to be most important is the joy I got out of it.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2 days into 2011
Really, what have I got to loose, just trying to keep track of my new years resolution and see what I actually achieved.
So here it is, try doing something new and unusual every day.
Thankfully I did not choose to loose weight or something , that is not unusual!
Anyhow, here it goes!
January 1.2011
Walked with snow shoes around our property and learned that walking on horse tracks in the snow does not work well at all.Finished by making snow angels and rolling around in the snow with cats.
January 2.2011
Started a blog,never thought I would ever write about myself for people to read.
Thanks Bonnie for suggesting to chart my progress.
So here it is, try doing something new and unusual every day.
Thankfully I did not choose to loose weight or something , that is not unusual!
Anyhow, here it goes!
January 1.2011
Walked with snow shoes around our property and learned that walking on horse tracks in the snow does not work well at all.Finished by making snow angels and rolling around in the snow with cats.
January 2.2011
Started a blog,never thought I would ever write about myself for people to read.
Thanks Bonnie for suggesting to chart my progress.
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