Last year my son got married in the Mosel area of Germany. It was quite a big wedding with all the trimmings and I made the journey from Switzerland to attend. He organised a car to take them to the church, an old Fiat and here it is, complete with chauffeur.
A sign on the London Underground/Subway. They are identical on every station, naturally changing the name of the station. This happened to be in Aldgate, just bordering the City of London.
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt. Not sure how to participate? a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.
Great, a new prompt. The first mistake is that it is not working, so it can only get better. I noticed some of the faithful have written and we see their results in the Reader. But it is 29th February, and this date only exists every four years so of course we can forgive a little forgetfulness now and again, especially if we cannot remember how to do it. I am sure during the day/night the daily prompt team will remember how it works.
In the meanwhile I had just finished my midday golden oldie sleep and was gazing at the open door to the bathroom, thinking about risking a leap out of bed and back to the normal world.
On the other hand it looked so forbidding and threatening. Shrouded in the shadows there might be something lurking, so I turned in bed with my iPad in my hand to gather ideas for today’s prompt. It was then I heard a voice.
“Are you going to leave the bed eventually?
I was awakened from my dreams of leaping out of bed and rushing to fulfil a daily prompt which I decided was not working, but where there is life there is hope, even for a non-functioning daily prompt.
I noticed this morning on my shopping safari, that I was not alone in the world on this day of the leaping year. I met a colleague who was walking on two crutches, having had an operation. She had heard of my famous accident from Mr. Swiss where I leapt to fame falling and touching an electric fence on the way. Unfortunately I no longer have my walking stick, I now manage leaning on the shopping cart. We had an interesting conversation comparing notes and various tablets and medicines. She said she arose in the middle of the night to take a pain killer and I replied that I have been there and done that a few times, but after discovering that it did not help, I just stay in a horizontal position in bed and hope for a miracle healing.
For a leaping day there were not many people around at the supermarket, probably recovering from their injuries from their leaps at home. I remember having a distant aunt whose birthday it was on 29th Feburary. At the age of 15, she looked remarkably old, telling me that her age was only a paper fact and she had to remember to multiply by 4 every year. She said that when she applied for teenage discount they refused.
Mr. Swiss had to call in at a mini supermarket whilst leaving the mega supermarket for something important – no idea what it was, but no problem. I proceeded to the exit where they sell the flowers. It is now the last day of February +1 and they have now organised the flower show in the gardening department which is a welcome opportunity to take a few photos, especially as Mr. Swiss was not there to interfere. As the ground was flat, there was no problem of falling whilst taking a photo.
Here is the result. It is primula time, the first messengers of the warmer weather, although today there was snow in the air and an ice cold wind. I saw the petals shivering and shaking, but they remained still for my master shot.
Happy leap year day everyone, and be careful as you leap, you may not have a safe landing. If you are lucky like the daily prompt people you will freeze on the way, resulting in a perpetuated grid of posts which remain invisible but go to the reader where you can read all about it.
Daily Post: Leap – into the unknown non functioning grid, see you in the Reader
Daily Post: Leap – into the unknown non functioning grid, see you in the Reader
Planted about 8 years ago, my climbing rose.
Apple Blossoms from my tree
and here the apples
A classic question, revisited: what are the five items you must have on a deserted island?
It is so classic that not only do you admit you repeated it yourself, but are now repeating it again because it was such fun. Do you really think we love to leave our normal surroundings to live on a desert island surrounded by water, fish, whales, sharks and perhaps a few mysterious U-boots? Ok you want me to go, so I am on my way.
(Photo entrance to Helsinki harbour1964)
As I was approaching the island I realised that someone had been there before. There were all sorts of reinforcements along the coastline. Were they there to let me out or to stop the others from escaping, as long as they were still alive and not eaten by the natives, there might be canibals there.
Eventually my ship docked and the inhabitants were already waiting for me. The complete island was in monochrome so I had the strong feeling that I was not only being transported to an island, but back in time.
(Photo waiting in Leningrad harbour to leave the ship 1964)
I was searched for any items I was carrying that could spoil the untouched life on the island. I assured the guards that I wanted to enjoy my stay with no luxuries whatsoever, I wanted to get away from it all. They did not believe me and found that my camera, computer and iPad would endanger the quality of life on the island, as well as my Apple watch and so they took them away from me and the inhabitants were returned to their colony which was surrounded by wire, to prevent any contact with the visitors from the daily prompts. They said they had too many arriving over the last 3 years. and that entrance was not permitted to their enclosure. Their solution was a helicopter to take me to a neighbouring island where I could be alone, although they warned me that now and again visitors arrived
I boarded the helicopter and we were away. After some time we approached the next island. This looked more friendly and the island was even in colour. I decided this would be more modern and probably the natives were friendlier. Here is a photo of the approach to my island.
I saw that the statue was a lady holding a torch, which reassured me immediately. At least there would be light at night. The helicopter landed and the friendly pilot gave me a push and wished me luck. It was a very nice island, and not so far from the mainland, although I was told that although the ships visited quite regularly, they were usually quite full and only there for the visitors.
I found this very nice, I would not be so isolated. After some time a ship arrived and swarms of people invaded my island. As I had not taken any provisions with me I searched for food. I was very lucky as there were various garbage cans full of edible goods. My first meal was half a foot long frankfurter, someone had eaten the other half probably. I also found carton boxes with Big Mac remains, although I learnt to avoid those with cheese: cheese remainders tend to go green after a while.
I soon discovered that I could even climb the statue, but had to wait until I was allowed and had to pay for entrance. Luckily I also had my credit card with me, item No. 5. I was living on the island and the tourists had priority. I eventually reached the top of the statue, but decided it was not my thing, far too exhausting. I had quite comfortable accomodation. There was a ticket office for the visitors to the statue which was empty at night, and so I made myself comfortable. Thank goodness I decided to take a sleeping bag with me.
Life was quite enjoyable on this island, but now and again was quite noisy with kids screaming for ice cream parents telling them “no, you cannot visit the lady with the torch, it is too expensive”.
My time soon came to an end. One day the police arrived and arrested some people known as tramps that had been begging for money and food. They included me in their prisoners and so I left the island under a police escort.
I am now back at home, and I must say it was really a nice adventure. The next time they do it again, I want to go to that island where they caught that big ape, what was his name – ah yes, King Kong. I love animal life.
Sedum in my garden
A helleborus plant in my garden, one of the first to appear in January and a close relation of the white Christmas rose which I also have in the garden and appears at the end of December. They also drop their seeds and although I began with one plant, I now have three.
You are on a mission to Mars. Because of the length of of the journey, you will never be able to return to Earth. What about our blue planet will you miss the most?
To prove that we Swiss can do it, on 04.06.2014 the Swiss sent me on their first space mission to planet Mars, forgetting the return journey. Yes, the Swiss were at the beginnings of their space travel programme and we were pleased with the success of the journey. It was a one way ticket and a return trip was not planned. Since this time I am still living on Mars and have quite made myself at home, so who needs gravity and earth?
On the other hand this whole adventure was based on a misleading daily prompt and I must say, you can always rely on a daily prompt for a return journey, it is called repetition, so here I am planning my flight back to Earth. Of course I miss a lot, the crowded streets, the smell of the carbon monoxide from the cars on the roads, and of course a MacDonalds on every street corner. Being Swiss I am also missing the Winters where continuous snow falls and ice coats the streets as a invitation to a skid and slide, resulting in an accident by falling, or a crash with the car.
Of course we have gravity on earth, which is an advantage over Mars conditions. If I climb a mountain on Mars, or stand to take a few photos of my Martian friends and their nice sheep with their red furry coats, I might lose my balance, no problem. We have almost no gravity on Mars and so I just float and steer my way to the surface. You learn how to do it after being forgotten for almost two years by the Swiss and WordPress civilisation on Mars. I remember the accidents that occurred on Earth, resulting in hospital treatment, because you generally made an abrupt landing downwards due to gravity, no warning.
Now today I have heard that I can return. Due to progress made on earth a space ship has been designed, for the return journey. I am looking forward to seeing the Swiss mountains again, and eating cheese fondue, although I must say the red sheep produce a wonderful milk. You just have to shake the sheep and the milk arrives as creamy red cheese. Just pour it into a Martian volcano and you can dip pieces of Martian bread into it, very tasty and who cares if the bread is red as well. Yes, even the wheat growing on Mars is red. You can grind it into flour between two Martians, they do not mind and have quite leathery skin with spikes. Just ideal – who needs a mill. And of course the Mars mountains are out of this world, at least out of their world, they make the Swiss Alps look like dwarfs.
Now and again it rains on Mars, but the red clouds filter it nicely and it collects in puddles. It has a remarkable taste, similar to wine, so what more do you need for the cheese fondue.
But Earth is waiting for me. I heard some of the countries no longer exist due to a few disputes. Nothing has changed. Since the middle ages there have been disagreements, even earlier, and countries changed their borders. That is earth life as I knew it and I could read all about it in the news or watch the television to see who was building the biggest bomb and having fun trying it out on the others. Perhaps I even miss the governments, the excitement of the elections, each political party telling me they were the best and promising more wealth and improved life style.
Here on Mars there are no political parties, no wars, everyone gets on with everyone else and the sunsets are perfect. A red sky in the morning and a red sky in the evening, actually a red sky all day, but who cares. It is a natural a colour originating from the red sand and not from pollution.
You know what, when I think of it, I think I will stay. Mars is not so bad after all, no problems about what to cook, there is not great choice. Red sheep in 100 variations. They have short lives in any case and produce children ten at a time, so no need for killing them for food, they just give up. It is such a friendly happy planet. And the men? Ok, I know they have red hair and red skin, but who cares. They have other qualities, not wanting to go into details.
Yes, I think I will stay, I have everything I need on Mars.
Even the sky has its marroon moments, especially during the sunset – taken from my workplace when I was a working woman.
Baby firebugs congregatingand getting ready for their first excursion into nature. They are the first insects I see in the garden every year. They do no great harm and usually manag three breeds in a year Spring, Summer and Autumn. If it is a mild Winter you might see one or two.
I almost overlooked this one, and living in Switzerland it is an important item in Swiss life. The emblem of the capital town of Bern is a bear and it has been tradition for many years that Bern has a bear pit in the town. Here is a photo I took. As soon as the bear saw me he stood up and made a pose,
To make the bear pit bear friendly they planted some trees and it is surrounded by water. Over the years the Bernese bear pit became a bit old fashioned and so the town decided they deserved something better. They have now built a bear park on the banks of the River Aar and the old bear pit has been transformed into a brewery, amongst other things.
A lively group discussion, an intimate tête-à-tête, an inner monologue — in your view, when it comes to a good conversation, what’s the ideal number of people?
It seems that WordPress were not listening, because I wrote about this on 11.10.2014, too soon for me to write all about it again with the same enthusiasm. I decided to take you all to another place and time.
Sometimes you do not need conversation It is good to retire into your own world and just absorb the atmosphere surrounding you. That is what this gentleman (Mr. Swiss) decided to do in a café in Vienna in the Autumn of 1998. Yes, I have been busy scanning photos again. I remember the occasion well. A walk through the streets of Vienna, admiring everything and then finding a “typical” Viennese coffee house to relax. There was no need for conversation, we were just absorbing the voices surrounding us, all in the dialect of Vienna of course.
Vienna is a very pleasant town : everything so well organised. They even have a circular road surrounding the core of the town. I remember the route of tram No 1 which encircled the town clockwise, and tram No. 2 which did exactly the same anti clockwise. What could possibly be better? My first encounter with the natives happened near St. Stephen’s cathedral, the main church in the town. There were a group of teenage scholars collecting money for some sort of occasion and they approached me.
I am english, had spent many years getting used to the Swiss German dialect where I have been living for many years and was now confronted with Viennese. Of couse, I knew it from the TV, but having to cope with it and partake in a conversation was something completely different. Luckily Mr. Swiss intervened and came to my rescue, although his answer was in so-called high German (the one spoken without any influence of dialect). The young lady laughed and continued on her quest for money, I think it was for the cathedral. I now really felt like being on holiday.
I soon realised that I was visiting the birthplace of the Viennese waltz, when I had my photo done with no-one less than Johann Strauss in the background, and in gold. I remember meeting him just near our hotel and he was playing just for me
Vienna is a town full of monuments and it seemed to me, palaces. We took a look at Schönbrunn, although spent more time taking it easy in the gardens.
It was Autumn so they seemed to be preparing everything for the Winter. I know, that guy is here in the picture again. That is one of the problems when you go on holiday together, it is either a photo of me, or one of the partner. Just ignore him and look at the scenery. They certainly knew how to plan parks in Vienna. I know that we did not actually go inside the palaces, because there were many people, they only had guided tours, and the weather was too good. Here is the actual palace (without either Mr. Swiss or me).
We then found the second palace in Vienna, which was Schloss Belvedere. Thank goodness I marked the photos to know what I was photographing. Vienna is not an enormous town and everything was nice and close. Here is Schloss Belvedere.
This time without me or the other one. What I love about Vienna is that nothing seemed to be in the way when looking at something. The skies seemed to stretch to infinity. Of course Vienna also has its intellectual side, and the Burg Theatre is known throughout Europe.
The photos were all taken with a “normal” camera, as we did to have a digital at the time, the reason why I am busy scanning.
We spent the evenings eating Viennese food in the restaurants. I remember the visit to a recommended restaurant where they serve the best “Tafelspitz” which is beef boiled with various vegetables and with Kren which is horseradish sauce. It sounds very ordinary, but what the Vennese did with it was a poem. The waiter even explained how to eat it when we were served. Another great dish was Kaiserschmarren, which is basically a chopped omelette mixed with icing sugar, vanilla and raisins and served with Zwetschgen (Damsons) and just right for a snack in between, and more filling than a hamburger.
I would also mention that Vienna has the largest cemetery in Europe where I was very busy with the camera. For the important people like Kaisers and Queens they have a cellar in the town known as the Kaisergruft. Yes, the Viennese are very well organised.
As Mr. Swiss and I study the photos a lot of good memories return. Perhaps one day I will return to Vienna, just to sit in a café and sample the 10-20 sorts of café they serve. It is their speciality, and each cup you drink looks different to the other, and they all have their own name. It is a true science to know what you are drinking, but why just a coffee, I was there to observe the Viennese charm. Yes, I love Vienna.
And here are the shopping trolleys at my local supermarket, all ready for the mango tango. It seems to be their colour. It is called Migros and in every town, and some villages, the supermarket chain is to be found – all in a certain shade of orange.
My neighbour planted pumpkins in her garden and so with her permission I spent some time taking a few photos.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain!
My "bump" was in 2016 when, aged 48, I suffered a stroke. This blog charts my recovery. (Header clipart licensed by pngguru.com.)
Retired and Enjoying Every Minute of It
I am Ahmed Abdi, a Wordpress blogger and storyteller who searches for stories that inspire people. I love writing because it’s a reflection of how I perceive the world around me. Lost in a world of endless chaos in my childhood, Unforgettable moments of tragedy and triumphs taught me the art of storytelling where I found myself through letter writing and then turned into stories but then sadly had lost everything I wrote for years. In 2018, I decided to create a Wordpress blog site that would allow me to store and retrieve every piece. Stories from my community, city and people are what make my writing so interesting and inspiring! I’m a tea lover so a cup of tea sometimes makes my blog.
Dil se Dil tak...
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Je crie, donc je suis
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One Day at a Time
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Everyday Thoughts and Musings
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A garden for birds, bees, bats, flowers, fruit and beauty!
Enjoy Photography and sometimes Writings 😋
"Summer is the Season of Inferior Sledding" -- Inuit Proverb. Martha Ann Kennedy's Blog, Copyright 2013-into perpetuity, all rights reserved to the author/artist.
Welcome to the Anglo Swiss World
Lets Go Nuts Together
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To participate in the Ragtag Daily Prompt, create a Pingback to your post, or copy and paste the link to your post into the comments. And while you’re there, why not check out some of the other posts too!
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