The Prisoner of Zenda

This is a very short post. I have just listened again to the audiobook of the above mentioned title. Lovely. Today I bought Rupert of Hentzau. Sort of a sequel. Spooky. For me at last, but a am easily scared by a
story. Still: I have the best of hopes, that it will end well. The king will die and Rupert Rassendyll will marry Flavia, Queen of Ruritania and be her Prince Consort. I guess, that's the title. It'll all end well.

Happy Halloween...

The joys of night noises

In the midst of a more or less deep meditation, she was pulled out by a sort of sqeaking, beeping sound.
The first thought: rats. But a rat would be squeaking more and not just ones and into her face *brrr*, so no rats. She turned over. After a while, the sound came again.... that blessed heating again! She turned the heating down and went back to bed. After a while, the sound again.. she wandered around. Maybe the battery in the camera? She took it out, went back to bed. The sound came again. She went into the living room, as the sound came from there or so it seemed. She changed the battery in her mobile mouse, went back to bed, wrote into her diary, that she had found the reason and ..... the sound came again. Drat.
She got up again and while going into the livingroom, the sound was right above her: the smoke-detector!

So she got her ladder, climbed up, couldn't reach it. Got a big cushion, put it on the highest step, was to far away from the thing. Moved the ladder again - it was close to midnight - and the cushion fell off. Positioned the cushion again stepped up, got at detector and pulled it out, with its screw. While extracting the battery, the mad thing went off like a gold dector or a fire was on. But she could stop it. That is not the kind of noise you want to make around midnight... After that, she put away the detector, got her i-Pod on loading and went back to bed. And it wasn't even Halloween yet... So what would happen then...

Where was I?

Do you know that feeling? You are in the middle of telling a story and then get caught in some detail, which makes you forget what you wanted to say.
But why do we say: "Where was I?" It is the same in german "Wo war ich?" O.k.: it means: which part of the story, but shouldn't it be more? Where did I go off wrong?

Anyway, in a more geographical way: where was I today? At home. Sleeping in, playing, knitting, clearing out my bedroom. But I didn't do any washing and the two times I left the house had to do with trash. It was my turn to get the paper-container up front and I put out the yellow sack out as well.
Now, since not every country has the same trash-System. In Germany, we have differently coloured containers or tons or sacks. So a little explanation here:

grey tons:  every day trash, like the rest of your Dinner or toiletry stuff, but nothing plastic or organic
blue tons:  paper trash
yello sack (or ton):   plastic and everything, that has a green point on it.
green ton or brown:  organic trash
grey ton with red lid:  doctors trash. At least as far as I know...

Our blue container, being for nine households is very big and it was almost full to the overflowing. But since I am doing sports now, I got it up (a little way up) and front. I had to go out the second time, because nobody had put out their yellow sack, so I wasn't sure, if it actually was that time. BUT: I saw some sacks out later.

After this terryfyingly interesting monologue *yawn* let's talk about..... something else.
Yesterday I mentioned books. And I really do love books. I do read a lot, but very slowly, because with only one eye. NO! I do have two eyes, both mine, both delivered at birth, but I do not see very well with the right eye... Nevere kept me from reading. My only problem is, that I also love to knit (as I mentioned) and I love to paint by numbers. But I cannot read at the same time. So I turned to audiobooks. And there are a lot of good audiobooks out there. For a couple of years now, I have been listening to different voices and I have my favourites. My absolut favourite is Hugh Fraser: he was - among other things - Captain Hastings to David Suchets Hercule Poirot. When Mr. Fraser reads, you forget after a while, that only one person is reading and feel in an audioplay rather....


I also like the audioplays on BBC 4 extra (Radio). Wonderful talents and very versatile. Try it out on the Internet... :-)

Well, it is late again, so I am off to sleep.

Yoga

So today I took a yoga-class at my gymn and it was fun. Not that I am surprised at that, because I had been doing some little yoga with a friend of mine. I just didn't remember, that there were parts, that are really hard
and I found out - yet again - that my arms are more like jelly, certainly not of steel.
Well, I'll be going there more often now, not just to do Yoga, so my arms will get stronger I'd say. Or I rather hope.

It is getting really cold here. I had put on only a fleece-shirt to go to yoga and it was fricking cold... brrrrr
But somehow I liked it. Couldn't explain why, just liked it.

Other than that, I have only been reading and playing and sleeping. Lovely day. And I gave myself those two days. Tomorrow I hold my fall-cleaning, I am not into spring or spring-cleaning, I dod it in the fall. That's o.k. and on friday I shall bring some old clothes and some trash away, So I shall have more space.
I also wanted to check out my closet to see, what I want to keep and what I want to toss. It is very full in my closet right now. Also my shelfs need some slimming. The books are standing partly in THREE rows. Oy.

And a lot of them are books I am not likely to read again. I do have the habit of reading parts of books again, even if I have a lot of new books. As I do now. But I just have stories that I love to read again and again. Pride and Prejudice, Agatha Christie's books, Dorothy L. Sayers, Arthur Upfield, Hermann Hesse, Max Frisch, that stuff.... And I am not a fast reader. But it does not matter, I have learned not to read books that I don't like. But I have not learned to throw books away. It is too hard. A book is a treasure. At any time. Well, with yoga and knitting and doing other sports and fall-cleaning, I won't have much time to read.

But: I can read for a little now, since I don't have to get up at 5 am tomorrow. Welterusten (sleep well)

Another Saturday Night

and I didn't see nobody. I talked to someone but did not see him (you may sing that with the song...)

At any rate: initially I woke up very early, but by turning around, I fell asleep again and didn't get up before 10 am and then only to use the bathroom and get a cappuccino. Then I spent another two hours reading and THEN went to play on Facebook. Afterwards I did some cooking, cleaned up some things and went back to bed to read.
After a while I played Sims 3 and knitted. Now I knit and write here or rather: only write here. and a little later on, I shall watch a film and knit. Because I have the chance so offer some of my caps for sale on a christmas market in my congregation. That's fun.

Anyway, since I am hanging on the knitting needles, in a manner of speaking, I want to stop now and just go on. Therefore: toodeloo and good night or good morning... :-)

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

I'm gonna have some fun... :-)

No really. I'll get some more housework dann and start learning, sleep in every day, start on Yoga, write posts earlier than now, knit caps, read books, order books, get in bed late, knit socks, watch films, meet
friends, try to avoid former friends, go to the bank, party for my nephews birthday and all because Doris Day once sang: "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!"

So I enjoy myself even more, than I usually do. For today though, I am rather very tired. I got up early, my first train at 6.04 am was late, so I missed the second train, so I missed the bus, so I had to take an other one and was in the office by 7.27 am.
Which meant, that instead of 4.55 pm, I had to stay until 5.25 pm and lock everything up, because I was the last one out...

But then I caught my bus, my first train and the second one and met an aquaintance. So that was fun, we had a nice chat. Anyhow: I'm off to hit the feathers, the wonderful feathers of bed. And that and that and that and that will make me quite happy not mad... :-)

Good night. Oh: you may comment, if you like. Advice on how to improve my blog or FRIENDLY

criticism or what comes to mind. BUT: no insults, no swearing, nothing political and nothing religious. 

 

Long day

Last night I slept well and through. You've certainly all been worried about me, haven't you?
Anyhow: it didn't convince me to get up early. So I have to get up early tomorrow and then stay until about 5.00 p.m. so as to be not over 10 hours of minus. My own fault, no commiseration appropriate.

After that I'm going to do some sports again, but not a course, my own program. And after checking out at 5.00 pm, I am having a one week vacation to do exactly: only fun things.

Now though I shall only go to sleep, so good night.


Why it was a long day, when I didn't stay long in the office? Because I met with a friend and we had a long and refreshing chat, that we didn't have the chance to in the last month.

Being pumped out

Last night I slept about an hour altogether. Not one complete, but here a minute, there some seconds... probably too much Cola Zero in the evening. This made me so tired this morning, that I got up an hour later, than one train was late, but only a minute and it didn't matter, for the bus I had to catch was ten minutes late and right before my stop it took a turning, where it wasn't supposed to. And because of it, rammed a car. That at least made him stop, so that I could walk to my stop, which wasn't so far off.

Anyway, his being late and turning wrong to the right side, made me even later, than I already was. So I arrived at 8.27 am, instead of 8.11 am, instead of 7.11 am...
This forced me to stay on until 5.23 pm. But I was lucky because I caught a good train, that had me reach my train, so that I was in time for the course I wanted to take and finally we come to the point, where I am pumped out. It was a course called bodyshaping. Fun, but really hard and I feal every muscle. Even those I didn't know I have. 

And I am pumped out, so I have great hope, that I will stay asleep tonight, even if the neighbours above me shivvy their whole furniture around.. 

Anyway, now it is 9.50 pm, I still have to take out my lenses and brush my teeth, so good night for now..

Music

I love music. Always did. That is: mostly the hearing of it. I used to learn how to play the flute, also the clarinet, but lacked the energy to apply myself.
I wanted to play the clarinet because of the film about Glenn Miller. You know the one: with James Stewart, June Allyson and Harry Morgan. There was a scene, when one instrument fell flat because the player had hurt is lip. So Glenn found away around the problem and used the clarinet. Very clever. It fascinated me. Also I liked the Music he played and that of Benny Goodman, who was a clarinetist. AND I liked the instrument. All not enough to apply myself.

But the love to listen to music stayed with me. My taste though has been decided to be odd. Because even at the age of 14 I liked Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and the whole gang. But also Supertramp, Nena, Level 42, UB 40, Shakin' Stevens, Eurythmics (though I'm never sure, wether I write the name right), The Carpenters, The Who, ELO, Rod Stewart, Boney M.

And Musicals. The ones with Ginger and Fred, with Fred and other ladies, with Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen, Shirley MacLaine, Barbra Streisand, Betty Garrett, Doris Day, Judy Garland,  Julie Andrews, Howard Keel, Dick van Dyke.

There is no particular order in this. Just as they came to mind and I might have forgotten a lot.

I also liked, no loved most of the guest-stars on the Muppet Show. Where there was Music, I was.
Later I went very much for Bollywood Films.

Music ist just wonderful and to some songs I have special memories. "There must be an angel" always conjours up a warm summerday, a good book and a stick of peppermint for instance...

I wonder, do others have these feelings and an all time favourite? Mine is "I'll never fall in love again" preferably by the Carpenters. I especially like the part when the sing: "What do you get, when you fall in love? You only get love and pain and sorrow! That's why at least until tomorrow I'll never fall in love again. Just fun...

Well late again so I write good night....

Getting to bed in time

I do love my bed and I certainly love to sleep, but somehow I have trouble to get into my bed betimes. There are always so many things I absolutely have to do. The can't possibly wait. So I do some of them, start others and then I find, it is almost midnight and I have to get up at 5 am these days. 
Today in the office I felt very able to sleep. Unfortunately I am not paid to sleep. So much for people saying we civil servants always sleep on the job. No. Unfortunately not.

Whatever. Here it is 9.24 pm. I plan to be in bed by 10.00 pm. After I packed my bed, layed out my clothes, washed and brushed myself and finished knitting the one row of the current cap. :-) not much, is it? 

Maybe, if I get started now.... got to run, bye..

 

Short Story

It was one of those golden October days. The sun was shining, the birds singing and the trees had those glorius colours in their leaves. While she was waiting outside her house to be picked up, a cyclist passed her by and remarked: "THIS is the golden October!" She could only agree, while noticing, that the cyclist had change sides on the street and on the other side a car was coming, though slowly.
As she was about to shout out a warning, the cyclist saw where she was and changed sides. "Phew, that could have been a very dead Octobre for her."

End of story. It does say that it is only a short story... :-)

Outsourcing – 101 Tipps und Ressourcen

Outsourcing – 101 Tipps und Ressourcen

Eine Möglichkeit, das Wochenende zu verlängern. :-)

Weekend

The weekend is the ideal time to get some housework done. Great. Unfortunately it is also about the only time in the week, when you might have some time to yourself. So what can one do? I have come to the conclusion, to do some little things over the week, quit work early on fridays and then only do the washing on weekends. And since it is my machine, that does the work, I have a maximum workload of about 15 Minutes (I work slow), to collect the washing, carry it down, fill the machine, switch it on. Then later switch it off, collect the washing and hang it up again. Sundays I don't do any work. Sunday is a real free day, where I rest. So I only do fun things. Like reading, walking, sleeping, knitting, playing. Occacionally I go to church, that is fun too. It only falls victim to my need of sleeping in so often... 

This weekend, due to being ill, I don't have any housework. Did most of it yesterday and the day before. So it is free. So, what do I do today? In a while I'll pick up the CDs, that I ordered and later I'll do some nordic walking with some friends. And after that I shall improve on my dutch, with the newly bought CDs. Lovely. Dutch is a fun language to learn.
Happy Weekend to all and me...

Being ill

I've been written off sick for the whole week. But now I feel better and so I can actually enjoy this free day. It is not, that I am completely healthy again, but healthy enough to enjoy sleeping in and doing fun things.

And all with a good concience. My colleagues wouldn't want me in the office and my doc said to stay home.
Perfect solution for all sides.

So what have I done today? Slept until 11 am, played on Facebook, started knitting a cap. That is only my second cap, the first I knitted yesterday, when I started getting better. Knitting is fun. I knit mostly socks. Lately I finished a scarf, I am still in the process of knitting a shirt (started in February or so). But now I am into caps. And I have enough wool to smother the world in caps.....

First Blogpost

I have decided - just for my own fun - to start a blog. There is no earnest talk here, it is just a try-out, as  it says. And it is for fun. And in english, as I prefer english to german sometimes.

So, we have the blog started, we have a front page and we have a first post.  One point off the list.