The Salted Buddhas

 "3" is a magical age. 

I remember a bit of my own very early youth, and vividly the time when our son was 3, and now the triplets entered it with the first day of September. 

Not being allowed to post photographs of the Three Graces I show you a postcard with a drawing by Cicely Mary Barker - it resembles amazingly a photograph of the unidentical triplet (the other two are monovular).  

What I adore is their imagination, the surprising use of language - and that they do not care a fig what the world thinks of them - they express  their feelings without pretence, laugh a lot, and are so easily bewitched by a situation and make the most of it that there is never a sign of boredom, but lots of energy (oh yes, I would like to have a third of that!).  

Yesterday I went to my little breakfast table in front of the huge window with the view into the valley (I know I sound like Hyacinth Bucket from "Keeping up Appearances" :-). 

It crunched under my slippers. 

Lots of fine white salt. Each of the triplets had snatched the salt-shaker in an unobserved moment and scattered salt on my breakfast table where I have two little buddhas and a small candle and always a fresh tiny flower. 

They do not like this assembly - sheer jealousy, if you ask me ("Good taste", Son would say). Ha!   

They giggle with laughter when they mention "The salted Buddhas". 

I take a deep calming breath, 4 - 7 - 8, and then I smile :-) 

Rosemary's Butternut Squash Tarte

 

Thank you, dear Rosemary from the blog "Where Five Valley's Meet"  for your lovely recipe! 

In a comment on your blog I wondered whether I would find here in Bavaria a Butternut Squash - but I could capture one (from only two!) in the Supermarket. 

But I was very surprised that I could get no kale - all other ingredients I had or bought. 

I was also surprised that the Butternut Squash has not many pumpkin seeds in it - and though I use all there is from a Hokkaido, I wasn't sure about the squash and peeled it. 

The result was delicious - or, as the Dutch say: "Lekker!" 

And as foreseen: ONE of the triplets tried and liked it! 

The recipe you'll find here: https://wherefivevalleysmeet.blogspot.com 

The Donatello Exposition in Berlin

Yesterday I had my first "real" day in Berlin to enjoy culture. 

The days before I had speeded through the city, met a lot of friends, bought some clothes - and though I am used to running around and wore good padded trainers, my back hurt in the evening and I was very tired. 

I had come to Berlin for a week, then got a call from the electric company that they wanted to install a new meter the week after - thus I had to come back three days after returning to Bavaria... 

(I could have stayed in Berlin for the whole time, but in Bavaria I had the chance to meet my friend Anne, who became so ill. One of her daughters had invited me to her birthday, the daughter lives only 50km from my Bavarian second home address, and thus I could come by car, meet my friend - and travel back the next day to Berlin). 

On that day "I paid myself first" - meaning: 

- I went to my hairdresser (who became a friend over the time) 

- and visited the Donatello-exposition: Donatello. Inventor of the Renaissance 

- rewarded myself with a one-year abonnement for Berlin's museums next year 

The Donatello sculptures and paintings were presented in the "Gemäldegalerie" on the Kulturforum, where they're building a connecting plaza.   

The exposition was fine - though it didn't touch my heart very much. 

I loved "Virgin and Child" (ca 1422), which "is one of the very first examples of linear perspective, not only in Donatello's work but in all Western art. The figures emerging from the marble niche seem truly three-dimensional." (text of the museum) 

or this "Virgin and Child" ca 1422 

or this "Virgin and Child" ca 1420 - 23)

Outside I did a few steps and took some photos of the newly renovated Neue Nationalgalerie (building by Mies van der Rohe) , here a dramatic photo in black&white: 

- had a very nice meal at an Indian restaurant near my home 

- bought wristlets (haha, they still exist - these are my first try - winter may become very cold! - and they are so very stylish, artfully created by two sorts of mink - wait, I'll show you a photo: 

- and, after a short (but very necessary rest) I hastened to the Cinema Paris to see a new German movie, "Mittagsruhe" 

Then I bought some groceries and went to bed quite early. 

I Added a New Blog

 

Dear friends, 

thinking about my life and my interests, I decided to add a blog about plants: plants in real life, in literature and on paintings, in science and whatsoever.  

Because I want to sell my manuscript written about my own garden, I decided to write this Blog in German. But I want that you also can have a look at it (and maybe even become a follower - highly important for selling a manuscript :-) , and thus I added, with hesitations, the gadget "translator". 

And was stunned! 

It is really good - it presents the text almost as I have written, and thus I am very interested how you like it. (I still have to find out, if I can change parts of the translation). 

The blog you find under: https://blumenundgarten.blogspot.com/html  

Of course I will continue "You are witty and pretty!" - but will be enchanted if you follow me on my garden-blog. 

My Holiday in Zoutelande in the Netherlands

I want to share a few pictures of my week in Zoutelande in the Kingdom of The Netherlands with you. Zoutelande is a small village and well-known bathing place in the Zeeland Province.  

I start with a typical Dutch landmark: the windmill. This one in Zoutelande was built in 1722. 

During our holiday the weather was so hot that we became almost ungrateful - 34°C made us less enterprising than normally. 

The North Sea was beautiful and calm, the water too, and - by its standard - "warm": 21° C. 

The Netherlands are a small, beautiful and rich country - with lots and lots of water in form of channels and Grachten. They have bridges on roads over channels that can be opened - and they do that! - and even an ambulance has to wait...

 More than the tourist-oriented Zoutelande...  

... I love the town Middleburg: 

Queen Wilhelmina (1880 - 1962) 

or the impressing technical world-wonder of the Deltawerken in the Oosterschelde, protecting Holland against the sea. The North Sea can be murderous, remember the flood catastrophe in January 1953.  (holland.com/de/tourist/reiseziele/provinzen/zeeland/deltawerke)  

I love the cozy Dutch villages, here Dreischor, a church-ring-village, first mentioned in 1206. You think you are in Rye - and Miss Mapp or Lucia might cross a threshold :-) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreischor): 

So: It was a relaxing holiday.  

With nice food (here you see the oyster banks in Yseke):  

... impressing skies 

... and the unforgettable scent of Rosa Gallica and the Sea:   

My sincerest condolences to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Albert Einstein on World War III and IV

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), the great German physicist, was also a very wise man. Today I found a quote that made me shiver (rough translation by me)

"I am not sure with which weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with stones and sticks". 

He also said: 

"Two things are infinite (endless), the universe and human stupidity, but about the universe I am still not quite sure."

To cheer us up he said: 

"A clever person solves a problem. A sage man avoids it." 

Suitable to your convictions please hope or pray for that! 

PS: The photo I took in Zoutelande, the Netherlands