Monthly Archives: April 2019

FOWC with Fandango: Wagon

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Railway Works 30.04 (11)

How is this for a wagon. Two days ago they cut our escape route to the outsdie world due to repair work on our local railway. I had an alternative road to leave the village, but my own private wagon and me do not like travelling lesser known roads. Tomorrow everything is back to almost normal, so today I escaped in my wheelchair and decided to have a look what is happening.

Our road is now open so I had to move along to see how they were attacking the next part of the village. As I travelled along I came across this monster. This is apparently used for laying new railway tracks.

Railway Works 30.04 (5)

Further along the road there was a little more action with men dressed in their orange overalls watching the men driving the various strange other wagons.

Railway Works 30.04 (1)

And then I discovered what they were doing. They were removing the surface between the tracks where the railway crossings are. I can imagine this is because they are the exits from the village and continuously being used by our cars and probably subject to more usage. Here you can see where the digger is scooping out the old surface. During the night the men will be working and by tomorrow lunch time everything should be as normal again with a new surface.

Bipperlisi 06.10 (1)

This is the normal state of affairs when our railway is passing through.

FOWC with Fandango: Wagon

RDP Tuesday: Bread

Posted in Ragtag Daily Prompt by

Breakfast

“Eat your crusts.”

“I don’t like them.”

“They are the best part of the bread.”

Poor mum did have a problem with me and the crusts. When I think back to my younger days, I suppose I was a fussy eater, but I just did not like those crusts on the bread. Now I have to be careful not to annoy the Brits reading this, but since living and eating bread in Switzerland for the past 50 years I just have to say that I do not like english bread.

When I visited my dad over the years I had to live as the Brits do, because I was again in England. The crust problem did not exist. Why? I discovered that when I was buying bread for dad and I, the bread in England did not have crusts: at least not what I called a crust. I must admit that dad never bought the bread in a bakers, but in a store. I decided to go to a britsh bakers for the bread, but probably Dagenham did not have the best bakers shops, as everything was covered with a soft brown outside. The bread had no crusts. My dad even put his bread in a plastic bag to keep it nice and soft, and so did most of the Brits from his generation. They had discovered the advantage of the plastic bag.

I now wonder if it was the crust I did not like eating when I was a kid, or just the bread. I grew up with white bread, cut bread in a packet. The Swiss description for British bread is generally “blotting paper bread”. Perhaps if the British bread was baked with a nice brown hard crust when I was a kid, I might have eaten it. If I remember back to my younger days the whole family clan ate white bread with nice soft crusts.

RDP Tuesday: Bread

Good Morning

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Morning Sky

It is supposed to be a nice sunny day today, although the morning sky did not look like it. OK, in the meanwhile the sun has appeared, so I just might be on my way again this afternoon in my wheelchair.

The morning did not really start so well. I did intend to sleep a little longer, which I did, but our feline decided to constuct a hairball during the night, luckily on our stone floor, so that was the first task of the day, to remove it. The second task was to deal with her recycling tray. I noticed she was watching me and yes, as soon I was was finished she decided to christen it again. After this beginning I can only hope that everything will get better.

Baby Appes

After this welcome to the day, I decided to search for something more positive in the garden and I discovered that my first apples are appearing at the base of the now wilted flowers. They are now only babies, but when Autumn arrives I hope to begin my harvest with the fully developed fruits.

Yesterday I did my marathon shopping expedition to cover our needs until Thursday. Railway repairs to the exit/entrance of the village are now in progress and Wednesday is May Day: closed for the holiday in the afternoon, so I again had to do a logistic creation to have it all under control. As it was Monday afternoon, the store was almost empty and I could move comfortably to find the items on my list: although moving with ease is never so easy for me, but I can support myself with the trolley. At least I can now relax until Thursday afternoon.

Back Garden and Frog

I really need to get out and about with my camera and collect some new photos. Even I am getting bored with my garden views, but have nothing new to offer at the moment. My frog king is keeping an eye on things and is watching the plants grow. It is really amazing how fast they develop. After my last visit from the gardener, I have an explosion in the garden of the greenery.

Yarrow

I am still working this one out, but I am now almost convinced that it is yarrow and am waiting for the stalk to appear in the middle to confirm my suspicions.

I never realised that work on the railway could make so much noise. During yesterday afternoon it began and they worked through the night.  When I disappeared into my bed I could hear the noise in the distance. I hope to get a few photos today when I wheel out of the village, if they have not blocked my wheelie path of escape.

My cleaning lady is not here this week and next week. She is on a visit to Mexico for some sort of conference. I now have to get on with my cleaning: a bit of this and that, and a few windows to freshen up.

Have a good day everyone, enjoy and I leave you with a view of my wild meadow opposite my garden. It begins to grow in Spring and we are not allowed to remove it until the first weeks of June to give the plants a chance to spread their seeds for next year. I find it a good idea and the remains of the meadow are gathered to make hay for the local cow population.

Wild Meadow

FOWC with Fandango: Obviate

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South Feldbrunnen 22.04 (9)

Obviate? Yes OK, never heard of it and never used it. I had a look in Internet and got the idea it was a replacement. Just to be sure I had a look to see what it was in German (I know my mother tongue should be english, but that was long ago”. I found a German word and it made a little sense, but here is my effort based on the word.

Our village is under siege from the railway. The trains are no running until Thursday and      my exist road is closed. Translation of sign: Railway Crossing closed from 30th Aoril 2019 approximately 2.00 p.m. until 2st May 2019 approximately 3.00 p.m.

Of course there is a replacement: road further down in the village. I had to escape from the village this afternoon for shopping in another village, but no problem. Although the powers that be said the alternative route will be marked, it was not marked. On a wheelie through the village with my camera last week I notice this sign further down the road with the closing details. There was a similar sign on my rail crossing dated today until tomorrow, so what could possibly go wrong? I manage to leave the village by the obviate path (did I get it right?) and completed my shopping trip.

I then had to discover my return street to my home in the village. All I had to do was find the entrance where I left the village, but I was now coming from the opposite direction.  I had my eye open for the grey building you can see in the background as a clue and yes, there was my obviating path for my car. I entered and knew that I should take a right turning to arrive home. Unfortunately there were many right turnings on the way and I was not sure which one. In the meanwhile I had slowed down because I did not want to miss my obviating route, and as I took a glance in my car mirror I saw that there were about 4 cars behind me also creeping at snail pace. I suppose they had no choice as I was at the front. Suddenly I saw my right turn, my road to home and was on my way again. I am sure the cars behind me were glad to see the back of my car.

My car is now in my underground parking space, and will not be used again until our days of evacuation due to the railway work are finished.

FOWC with Fandango: Obviate

RDP Monday: Nimble

Posted in Ragtag Daily Prompt by

Walker

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick.

The candlestick is not my problem, it is the jump. I now have my walking stick, my walker (known as Rollator in German because I suppose it rolls with you) and for long distance travel my electric wheelchair. I met someone last week in the store that I had not seen for some time. Another surprise for them as they remember me from 20 years ago and not a golden oldie clinging to the shopping trolley for support.

And then someone made the comment, “it cannot be pleasant depending on a wheelchair”. They were being kind of course, but my answer brought a laugh with it. I said “a wheelchair is the best I did. I can now go on photography expeditions and no longer have to carry the heavy equipment with me. Just put the camera and the lens in a bag and wheel on with it”.

Even my walker has its advantages. I can move around at home and my computer, iPad, mobile phone and Kindle moves with me. It is all a matter of organisation. Nimble is a matter of interpretation.

RDP Monday: Nimble

Good Morning

Posted in Good Morning by

Jura

Nothing special today. It will probably be another rainy one with cold temperatures not reaching anything higher that 10° C. There is even snow falling in the highlands although not staying for long.

Life at the moment seems to be a shopping, time on the computer and housework. Opportunities for going places and seeing things, especially with my camera, are far and few between, as my cockney mum would say.

Morning

I suppose there is a little excitement on the edge as I can see that vaious machines and vehicles are arriving for the work being carried out on the local railway line. From midday my exit to the outside world will be closed. There is naturally an alternative, but I hate disruptions in my routine, especially my driving routine. I spent eight years leaving the driving to Mr. Swiss after my retirement, just now and again taking the steering wheel to keep in practice, and now I am completely alone in the car and have to plan it all myself.

Japanese Maple tree

I don’t even have a great variety of photos at the moment. My Japanese maple tree has now sprouted its red leaves for a splash of colour.

Morning Sun

And as I am sitting here munching my bread and honey and drinking tea, the sun has arrived to brighten up my morning. I took a step outside in the cold morning air to take a photo. Who knows how long the bright skies will last. Oh, the highlights of my morning.

Poinsettia, Schlumbergera

Even my indoor “garden” of poinsettia and Sclumbergera are enjoying the sun’s rays on the kitchen table. And now I will go and enjoy the pleasures of morning exercise after my shower with the vacuum cleaner and mop. I will be at home this morning, but after lunch there will be a shopping marathon to fill up supplies until Thursday lunch time. The next holiday interruption  is 1st May, followed by Ascension day on 30th May and Whit Monday on 9th June: just one holiday after the other it seems, again interrupting my daily routine.

I hope your day will be smooth runnings with no complications as I hope mine will be. Take care and see you later after my daily duties have been fulfilled.

Dianthus

FOWC with Fandango: Bucolic

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Aare 22.04.2019

It was something like a dream come true when I exchanged my smell of damp concrete in the East End of London for a Swiss village. I must have been the cuckoo that was put in the wrong nest. I spent the first 20 years of my life in London and decided to see what the rest of the world was like. She who seeks finds it seems and I found work as an english speaking secretary in Switzerland.

My first two years in Zürich were still town but even Zürich had a local mountain, the Uetliberg, and a lake. I moved on and arrived in Solothurn. It got greener, more rural and there were cows everywhere on the fields that were not occupied by crops of wheat and mais. Yes I had found my bucolic dream, and there was a river running through it as well, the Aar, what could be better.

I even married a Swiss who grew up in a small village on the side of a mountain. He cannot yodel, but his talents are more. He plays jazz drums. I remember once, on an evening somewhere, they had an Alp Horn and everyone had to try and play it. I took this 2-3 meter piece of wood shaped with a curve and yes, he was the only one that managed to get a tone out of it. You see, my Swiss life is perfect.

And now I must go, the cows need milking. OK not really, but they do not live far away, in the pastures surrounding my village. The chickens live next door.

Cows 02.05 (7)

Silky Chickens 04.01 (17)

FOWC with Fandango: Bucolic