This one is from my garden. I planted them many years ago and they return every year.
Daily Archives: 03/07/2017
Weekly Weather: Rainbow
This is what happens when you take a photo of a rainbow with a 300 lens, a real live close up. I was actually going to scrap the photo, but then I realised it I captured the colours, perhaps a little to close for comfort.
One Word Photo Challenge: Grain
Our grain, wheat, is still in the field although almost ready for a harvest. The photo was taken yesterday and it looks almost ripe.
Share Your World – July 3, 2017
For your main meal do you prefer sweet and sour, hot and spicy, spicy and sweet, bitter, salty, bland or other?
For my main meal I eat what comes on the table. If I was sitting alone at the table I would go for hot and spicy, but I have to cater for everyone’s tastes.
Where do you hide junk when people come over?
I am not perfect, way from it but I must admit I no longer have junk in my life. After bringing up 4 kids and being married almost 50 years I had junk for at least 40 years of my married life. One day I realised it was just me and Mr. Swiss and No. 1 son, who is autistic and according to the autistic rules and regulations, is an example to all of us with his organisation.
So on this memorable day I began to clear up, the motto being you cannot take it with you. We had moved house a few times in our married life, and now have our own place. Each time we moved we threw out stuff we no longer wanted to have in our life, but it was each time. One day I read a wise sentence, live as if you were going to move every week. This is actually quite sensible and although perhaps not move every week, but every month and I do it. I now have a place for everything and be careful, if I find a pile of junk it might be gone the next day on its way to never never land in the garbage truck.
What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?
I just did a check list and discovered they are already in my daily life: cleaning, blogging, sleeping after lunch (very important) and cooking lunch. I don’t really have time for anything else, although I have a piano but rarely get around to playing. Yes, that would be it, an hour a day at the piano again, but I have so many other hobbies. You cannot take photos everywhere, go for walks and play piano. The day does not have enough hours.
If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
I performed in a circus, but it was called family where I had 4 kids, a husband and housework. There was never a dull moment and sometimes you did not know whether to cry or laugh, but I always seemed to be the clown. I was doing balancing tricks daily like getting the kids off to school dressed and clean, juggling with the clock to make sure everything fitted in. I did not need chimpanzees to train, I had a family. And we had elefants trampling all over the place making a mess everywhere for the Ringmaster (me) to clear up again.
And did I mention it, I hate circus in any case. I do not find them worthy of the animal kingdom.
Daily Prompt: The Dash in Between
It was a year ago that dad passed away. He had a long life and was 100 years and 7 months when he went on the final journey. Although I knew this day would come eventually, it was still unexpected. I knew that saying the final goodbyes would probably be my last journey to England, to London, although you never know. I had prepared what I could in advance. It sounds heartless, but when you live in a different country and have a family there, you deal with as much as possible in advance. I was in contact with the funeral parlour, they were very good and helpful and even called me by phone, which does not go without saying on long distance calls from England. I gave out a small fortune calling various official goverment departments sorting the paper side of things.
I was put in touch with the minister who would be conducting the funeral service. I am an atheist and dad, well, who knows, but he only went to church for a marriage or funeral in the family so that just about explains it. He was not a true believer, perhaps you could say agnostic, but such words were not even included in a cockney vocabulary. If you were born in 1915 and survived a second world war as a soldier, you are glad to come throught it all alive and do not have time for church visits when in the middle of a war.
And so I met the minister online. Our correspondence was by e-mail sorting out how to organise the burial service. I knew we would only be few to attend: the lady and her mother that looked after him in his extra care appartment as well as my cousins and relations of his lady friend that departed a few years before dad.
I told the minister that dad was not a churchgoer and my position and he sent some suggstions of verses to say at the funeral. It seems that in England there was a good possibility to have a humanist funeral, and this was the direction I chose: not completely shutting religion out of it, the funeral being guided by a minister, but applying verses and a sermon celebrating dad’s life. The title of this prompt “Dash” reminded me of a poem we chose for the funeral by Linda Ellis copyright 1996 and suggested by the minister.
I found the poem on a web site, but although I would be permitted to recite it on the appropriate occasion, due to copyright I cannot print it here. Howver I can include a link The Dash in Between by Linda Ellis which is allowed. Please take time to read this, I found it an exceptionally good choice for dad. He spent his dash in a good way.
We all have our dashes. It might be just a short line, but can contain a complete life.
Good Morning
Is it a good morning? I have three sturdy builders mounting cladding on my front porch in front of the window. They are sawing, cutting and applying the syrofoam with some sort of messy cement. However, they are quiet, just a few words of conversation, a radio playing in the background not too loud and above all, no pneumatic drills or chisels, what could be better and I have the opportunity for a few photos, but nothing spectacular. I like taking photos of the work with the flying sparks and flames, but apparently that is now only on the roof.
So what did we do yesterday? The rain stopped in the afternoon, although there were still grey skies, but temperatures had dropped to around 18° C so I took myself on a walk with the camera in the early evening as I was suffering slightly from cabin fever. My world during the week was divided between the supermarket and the view from the window. It was time to make the surroundings uncertain. I decided to go up the hill to the local castle Waldegg, but this time with a difference. I had gathered some energy to walk a little further to the back part of the castle where they have their garden.
On the way I met a colleague from my village first aid society days. We are both now golden oldies and had a few things to catch up on. She was going down the hill and I was going up the hill. I wandered on and discovered with disappointment that the gates had been closed at the castle. However, there are two sides to the castle, so I gave myself a push to walk to the other side of the building and yes, the gate was open on that side.
I could now make my way into the garden and was not disappointed.
Everything was flowering and growing and producing seeds. They had such a wonderful selection, it was a delight for the camera. I had to be careful where I was treading, the ground was covered with wooden chippings and I was walking with my stick.
The poppies were now on their last, with a few remaining flowers, but plenty of seed capsules. I was really having fun finding something new for my camera and I was all on my own. There were no others walking around, I had a castle to myself.
Each plant had its own name plaque to show what it actually was. I heard the church bell strike just across the way and decided it was time to return home before Mr. Swiss sent out a search party, although he was occupied at home watching the daily news on the TV and the following German police criminal series. I took the downhill path home, which was much easier and quicker than going up the hill. I even saw some cows on the way in a neighbouring meadow.
I was glad to arrive in one piece again at home but found myself standing in front of a closed locked window, as I prefer to take the back entrance, it is easier and I have no stairs to walk down to the front entrance. However, I was ignored when I tapped on the window so had to phone Mr. Swiss who was sitting in the living room, just on the other side of the window, to open the window for me: thank goodness for a mobile phone connection. He opened the window wondering why I could not enter through the front door like most people with a key. I did not bother with an explanation, he was back to the TV again.
I spent the next hour uploading photos and starting the daily wash – a woman’s work is never done. However I had enjoyed my excursion with a difference to the castle. I think the phrase is tired but happy.
To the background noise of the builder sawing through styrofoam, I wish you all a good beginning to the week and say good bye with some coreopsis flowers that were growing in the castle garden.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 