Last Sunday in June

Isn't that quite shocking? The year sort of raced by. That in itself is weird, but the shocking part is what I was told, when I was much younger and time just wouldn't past (expecially in maths-classes): then I was told, the time would simply race by, when I was grown up. And somehow it seems to get faster as I grow older.
Well, I don't know about you, but that's, what it's like for me.

Still: I managed to corner out my own slow time: every Sunday is my person-free summer. I do not have to meet anyone, phone anyone, do anything with anyone. This day belongs to me and to me only. And don't
I love it. Makes me quite cordial to the rest of the human race. Because not only time runs, my patience with human beings seems to run between my fingers. Ah well, that's what it is. It only means though, that I wnat my time without other human beings. I do like the pixellated once. They do, what I want, when I want them to. Mostly, that is.

Last week my colleague and I found, that christmas was only 6 months away. Now, Christmas in my religion is held on the 24th of Decembre. Christmas Eve. And even if I already wrote it, this is, how it goes:
On the 23rd, my Dad and I decorate the tree, while my Mom gives the finishing touches to the Herring Salad. Then she comes to review it and my Dad drives me home. On the 24th, we go to Service in the Afternoon, then meet at my parents, trying to get my Uncle to eat a lot, so he won't have enough appetite for the Herring Salad. Then the presents are given out and enjoyed, the salad with Bread and all that enjoyed and then we all drive home again. The next day or the day after, we met at one of my siblings houses, because not all my siblings are at my parents. My big brother usually has christmas at his home.

Now, we do not know of course, if this will be the same this year. My parents are getting older and so we will take over some of their works. Like preparing the Herring Salad. Or I won't pick the tree with my father, but with my oldest Nephew or some such thing. Rituals will change, that's how life goes. But then again, it is
good, as it is.

Oh, something entirely else and sad at that: my Godmother, who is my fathers older sister, had her fourth stroke, about two weeks ago and developed a inflamation of the lungs. She is not really concious either
and frankly, at the age of 91, she doesn't want to live on. Especially, as it seems, that she will stay the way she is now for the rest of her life, which does not seem to be long. Though 91 is old.
So, if you are at all into praying, could you give a prayer for her? Pray, the Lord will take her to  him? I do know, that HE decides this things, but maybe if a lot of people pray for her, it helps. Or helps her to let go.
It is quite as likely, that she finds it hard to let got of life.
Now, this was religious and I do not generally write about religion, but this one is close to my hard, as I liked her, with all her faults. Mainly because she took me with all mine. And she was a generous person and very active. She travelled and met for coffee and until her second stroke she even met regularly with her schoolmates. And that was school in the 1930ies. So they were all very fit very long. But when my Aunt turned 90, there were only three left, including her. I think of about 20 women. She had a hard life, but a full one at that, at any rate, she does deserve a place in heaven in my eyes.

That was heavy stuff, wasn't it? First Christmas now age. So let's talk about travel. It fits, as she liked that.

Even though I haven't even embarked on my travels to England, I have already an idea for next years Holiday. I will go to Sweden by train. It will be Malmo via Hamburg. I have been in Sweden at the age of 17 with a group and it was lovely, but somehow then I travelled to other parts, so I thought, it would be nice to go back to Sweden and see it on my own. I haven't planned any further than that, though.

And, speaking of Sweden, this shouts out for some Astrid Lindgren and some of the songs in the films about her boos. So here goes. They may have been on here before, but I do not own them anymore, than then:

Food

Lately my thoughts have been centred on food. I am not sure if I wrote, that I was diagnosed with Gastritis, after having painful nights with stomach ache. And writing this, I feel like a fraud, because "I was diagnosed with Gastritis" sounds like I had some really dreadful and terminal illness. And that it is not. It opens up new ways, gives new opportunities, leads to new experiences.

What I mean? The stomach aches made me look up, what I can and can't eat without pain resulting from it.
So, I'll be saving a lot of money in future, because all the fatty stuff I like is off limits for me. Unless I want to spend my nights lying awake in pain and, let's say, developing a very close relationship to my toilet.

Therefore, the door is opend to better food. Healthier and tastier food. And I can get that from several food-traditions. A lot of which I may not even know yet. What I do know is Italian Food. And a little bit of Indian Food, Naturally enough, I know German food, also Amercian (I am referring here mostly to Fanny Flaggs Cook-Book). Then English Food and French Food. And I very little of Australian Food. That's not a lot and then again, it is quite a lot, looking at it.

Just recently I started a book by Erica Baumeister. It is her first book and is called: "The School Of Essential Ingredients". Apart from having quite beautiful stories, the descriptions of food and its' preparation are very inspiring. I have laid it aside for now, because I remembered, that I hadn't written my blog post as yet. AND because I don't want to finish it so soon, because then it will be finished and that will be a real shame, any time it happens.

I am not a foodie. I eat to fill my tummy. So of a weekend, after I finally got up, the whole food of the day may consist of buttered toast and cucumber. We are not speaking of two slices and a piece of cucumber.
This would be about eight pieces and a whole cucumber. Yes, it is greedy. And it was topped with a Cup of tea or Cappuccino.

But due to the requirements of my stomach and the aforementioned book, I made the resolution to change my food habits entirely. Not only the eating of it, but also the choosing and preparing of it.
Yesterday I started small with Pasta and Pesto out of a glass. Today I had Asparagus with salt and pepper and some butter baked in double aluminium foil in the oven for about 30 Minutes (I am not yet very good with the preparation of Asparagus). This I combined with small potatos, cooked in their skins and then boiled in a sauce of butter and rosemary. I do not as yet have my own little rosemary plant, but I will get one tomorrow. It was very tasty at any rate, even if I say so myself and the asparagus was rather hard than soft.

Anyway. Tomorrow - in the office - it will be a big salad with olives and tomatoes and cucumbers and a roll. That I will get from the bakery in my street, made from spelled flour. So that takes care of that. In the evening I may make some fish, but since I also planned to finally do some sports, I am not so sure about it.

Well, full fun ahead and a lot to think of and to learn. And it is always nice to learn. If you should have any ideas for slowfood, with little or no meat, no sharp ingridients, no cabbage, peas, lentils: go ahead and send them here, I am trying out cooking.

Now for a clip to do with food and as ever not owned by me....

It doesn't look, like it has to do with food, does it? But listen to the song, imagine yourself in an italian ristorante. Whole families are there talking to people waay down their table. Laughing, eating, drinking wine, the children playing, the waiters serving food. It is a hot summers days and la cena (the dinner) is in the garden of the restaurant, starting with antipasti.... and now: dream on.

Vivaldi, Verdi and Puccini are also very nice to listen to, while eating - or even only thinking about - italian food.

Enjoy! Until next week!

Life is good

Not, that I haven't written that here before, but no harm to write it again. I can only speak for myself anyway.

But just as an example, how bad things sometimes turn into something good:
around Pentecoast we had a horrible storm around here, almost a tornado. My neck of the wood does not generally have tornados. That was bad. And that the electricity in the train-lines was hit was bad as well.
The good and lucky thing about it for me was, that I couldn't get to work. I did try though. But there was
no getting there and so I took a day off on Tuesday and on Wednesday, since the problem was not cleared completely by then.
Since both were very warm and humid days and would have been even more so in my office, it certainly was no hardship to stay in. I also had enough days to take the days off. So it worked off.

This way I also got some ironing done ahead of time and payed some bills a day earlier, got my shopping done and hoovered through my flat once more.

I also downloaded some music and I will see now, wether I can't find a clip or two of the songs.
I don't own them, I just borrow them. As ever...

The second song is a different version from the one I downloaded (which was by Art Garfunkel), but the version I can hear I can't see on YouTube, it is only for people in the USA. It's a bore, but this one is a very nice version for sure.

Anyway, nothing much happened. Oh, my nice got her A-Level-results. I expect them to be very good, as she is an A-Student... 

Other than that there is really nothing much to tell except, that the weather is nice, the birds are singing and it is Sunday again. 

Oh, I had a very good night and in my book that is not so very often, so I rejoice about every good night I can get. 

I wish you all good and peaceful nights, but first a sunny and happy day and week!

Don't eat the daisies

I thought, I'd start this post with a clip (that I don't own), because it came to my mind.

So, it is the Pentecost weekend here and mighty hot it is. I spend some time on my balcony and then had a "nap" afterwards. Time on my balcony: 30 Minutes. Naptime: 6 hours. How I am going to sleep tonight? I have not even the remotest idea.

Whatever: yesterday I went walking, but not in the heat, we went in the late afternoon, when it had cooled off a good bit. Afterwards I finished watching "When Harry met Sally". I found, that I am not so very fond of the pretending scene of Sally, but I like the comment of a lady in the restaurant afterwards. "I'm having what she has."

Other than that: I have been very successful last Tuesday: I found a trainticket from London to Yorkshire for about under 25 British Pound and a busticket back to London for exactly 25 BPD, plus a theatre ticket for 63,30 BPD (instead of 108 BPD) in the stalls. So all in all I saved 211 BPD in one go.
I was so swelled with pride, that I did my income-tax declaration right away and sent it off the next day.
May that money come in... :-)

At work I did something new all by myself and did it well and I worked off some Minus-time I had collected. Also I worked quite well all in all, in spite of the heat.
The new office-team with my colleague so far is a good one and we get along just fine. We can each do, as we like and neither gets irritated.

I'll have to have the door open for the next days though, as it is going to be very hot and steamy here in Germany and I can't stand that at all.

Oh and on Friday and Saturday I washed, hung and took off the line again: SIX loads of washing. You can see from this, that I have not been washing a lot lately, also there was one load of Bedclothes, that I kept for drying out of doors. Someone kept his stuff hanging in the drying cellar. Including his underpant. I hope he has more than one. :-)

Other than that I have been fairly lazy, but I have also been dreaming of what I will be doing, when I am in Yorkshire and London. It will be wonderfull and relaxing. I shall have a great time. Well, only being there, without doing anything will be great.

Now I will go back to my balcony, but I thought: it's Sunday, write your post, there may even be people waiting for it. Oh, if I find another clip (not owned by me), I'll put it here, but anyway I wish you a good Sunday. Peace be with you!

It's a lovely day today

..... because it is Sunday and I don't have to work today. So I slept in and then I've read a little and now I am sitting here, with my almond cappuccino and writing.

This will be one of the last cappuccini, due to my having developed a Gastritis. This means, that I have to bar a lot of food items from my shopping list, because they do not combine well with Gastritis. Since I meant to loose a good deal of weight anyhow, I consider that my body's way of helping me along.
And boy does he have a way of re-thinking my food-choices of the day: he keeps me awake with horrible stomach pain, until I finally crawl out of my warm and cozy bed and take a tea. After I drank that slowly, the pain leaves and I can sleep.

Now, I do not deserve any compassion for my pain, as I did it to myself. Years of unhealthy stuffing finally caused my stomach to strike back. And then some. So I am learning what I can eat without pain and what I can't. At first it seemed, that there are more things, that I can't eat, but that's not quite true. Surely, all the things I love fall flat and have to go, but there are a lot of things left, that I like. So I shift.

Also this means, that I will save a lot of money on Gyros, Doener, Big Macs, Fries, Cappuccini, Carrot Cake and such. I will switch to pasta, rice, potatoes (not the fried version), tea (not black though) and a lot of veggies. Lean Meat and Fish are allowed as well. So I am not likely to starve, these are all things I do like and therefore I am not even deprived. I just shift.

Other than that: a colleague told me on Monday, that there is a way to get tickets much cheaper, so I will be able to see The Crucible after all, from almost the front row (I am not a fan of the front row) at a more reasonable price. 74 €. That's much better, than 133 € and I am willing to pay that. Even though it still is quite a steep price. But compared to other prices.... :-)

Now for the Music of this day, I will use - yet again - a song I like. I don't own it, but it is nice and fits the title. I am pretty sure, that I already had it here, but it is one of the songs, you can hear more than once and still like.