You See What You Want to See

When you come back from a holiday - and this was a short one, just a week in Bavaria and Austria - it might happen that you see things in an utterly different way.

At least for a while.

Or you might forget what seemed to be a huge problem before. In the last week I had completley forgotten the chaos in our "Hinterhof" (Hinterhof is how Berliners call the huge backyard - if it looks like ours).

Before I left I thought: that is an invitation for burglars. Then I forgot.

It all depends on the way how you see the world:
pessimists would say: "Britta - I must warn you - that might be the start of dementia!" (Sorry, what did you say? And, by the way: who are you?)
The ones with the rosy- tinted glasses (or the Buddhists, who are no optimists) say:

"You see what you want to see."

So: life is about perception, and finding balance.

Thank you so much, Joanne! (Noragon)

Dear Joanne,

thank you oh so much for the two lovely kitchen towels that you sent me! 

It was a complicated journey for them from the USA to Berlin in Germany:

1. you sent me an email and asked for my address (you had it once, when I ordered a beautiful red scarf from you - but it was lost).

2. You told me about your plans - WOW! - sending those wonderful kitchen-towels to all those bloggers you communicated with - a bit like Tibetian peace flags.
And the towels were a gift!
(First I did not understand this - and wanted to pay, and order some more -- than you explained)

3. Two days ago I got a very strange letter from the German Customs Authority.
They had, they told me, a letter waiting for me,  mysterious and uncleared.

I was puzzled: a letter from the USA?

And than I had the idea: it must be from you, Joanne!

Thus I walked to the Zollamt - it was a beautiful, sunny day - and I found the street, not that far from my home. BUT - the street ended suddenly, far from the house number they had given me.
I asked a lady who said: "You have to walk through the Rudolph-Wilde-Volkskpark, it's on the other side".
Although I have been often in that park, I never had crossed it before.
Stunning!
I saw the old RIAS-Deutschlandfunk- Radio-Station.
And the the Zollpostamt.

Discussed with the officer-Lady inside, who gave me a waiting number, waited, and came then to a very friendly good-looking young guy.

"We are doing random tests", he said.
"Aha", I said. "And?"
"We are not sure what it is in the envelope."
"Aha - but I think I do. Is it from Mrs. Joanne Noragon?"
"Yes!"
"Then I know what is inside!" 
"What?"
"A kitchen towel, emerald green." 
They had thought it was a purchase - I told them about Joannes's project, and he was enchanted.
"You can open it!" I said.
"No, you have to - I might damage something."
So I opened it.
"Wow", he said, "that's really beautiful! But there a two!" 
"Wow!", I said, "how wonderful!"

And I went home, so happy, and so grateful to you, Joanne!

THANK YOU - they are really beautiful! Yours, Britta 

PS: I took some photographs - but till now Google hasn't transported them. But I will no longer wait to send you my thank-you-notes - and the pictures will come later.