Mr. Moonlight

 

I have the feeling that at the moment my moods go up and down a bit - as a cabin in this Ferris wheel. May depend on still interrupted sleep, or the flu vaccination a few days ago, or the change of the season (and return to standard time) - I don't know. 

The standard time feels more "normal" to me. I muse about the efficiency  of the EU: as far as I see everybody of that parliament is convinced that it would be good to stop the nonsense of shifting time in summer and winter - they talk about that often, but do they DO anything about it? At least not this year, or the last year or the years before that. Grrr. 

Maybe I should move to Tilling or Riseholm - where Queen Lucia and Miss Mapp and all the others Tillingites/Riseholites simply ignore the change (to take a train to London - but who wants that? - forces them for a very short time.  "How tarsome", George would say.) All my Lucia-books are in Berlin - I hope I wrote the quote right.

Oh, I adore E.F.Benson!!!  

We still have beautiful sunny weather - though it gets a little underlying chilly note. 

This evening the whole village does a lantern procession - the triplets are looking out for that. For me it is a very fine childhood memory - I still see my huge lantern with the face of Mr. Moon in front of me. 

    

A Snippet of my Everyday Life

 

The day before yesterday the bell of my Bavarian flat rung - I pressed the button - nobody came up - so I went downstairs and saw the stoplights of a white van. 

A deliveryman had dumped a heavy parcel in front of the house - ah! the potting soil I had ordered. I just had my influenza virus vaccination - thus I abstained from carrying that parcel up to the second floor (I happily do weight training again since two months and think I might have been able to carry those 45 litre - but then: my back is a bit touchy - thus I let the parcel where it was). 

Next day the parcel stood in the hall - yesterday I asked the young forest ranger from the flat downstairs whether he had put it inside - no, but could he carry it up for me? "Oh, wonderful!" (I had corrected the Master thesis of his girlfriend, thus now I know a lot now about "The Economic Value of Wood from Little Private Woods") and thought I could accept his offer. 

The forest ranger is the only person the triplets REALLY respect. He drives a huge pick-up, AND a "John Deere" (the girls, though just three years old, can tell you most car make that passes by, and all tractor makes - a valuable foundation for life :-) 

Now I need a fine day to plant the rose Avalanche into a huge container. 

Query: If I tell you about such an everyday event - is that ok - or do you start to yawn? I would know about that! 

"A Year to Live"

 

On Tuesday, November 1st, in Bavaria we had a feast day - "Allerheiligen" = All Saints' Day". 

In Germany each state can decide whether you have a feast day or have to go to work. When I lived in Mainz, utterly Catholic,  I had 5 more free days on which I had not to work - in the same job, same federal employer, same salary - than in Hamburg, utterly  protestant. 

The Flying Dutchman is perplexed by the fact that Church still has very much influence in Germany - in the Netherlands not even Sunday is a day of rest: on Sunday you can go and shop. Honestly: I am glad that Sunday gives us a pause in many regards. 

Wednesday, November 2nd, Mexico celebrates "Dia de Muertos" - but that hasn't any influence on me. 

These gloomy days might look like an explanation why I ordered a book via Amazon: "A Year to Live" by Stephen Levine. 

But no - I wasn't morbid or depressed - our October and the begin of November was full of sunshine, high temperatures and beautiful colours. And I am fit and feel fine (better knock on wood!) 

Thus I surprised myself (I am glad I can still do that!) by ordering that  book. 

Surprised - because if you know me you would know that I shun themes concerning death as much as the devil shuns the holy water, as a saying in Germany goes. 

I do not like cemeteries nor funerals.  

So - why interest in that book? And why did I sent it back so quickly? 

Well, it was so different from what I expected - more on the esoteric instead of the philosophic side, too much of the "mindfulness"-direction. 

Yet I do love the title. 

I started to think on my own, without that book. To think that all you have for living is one year - 365 days - that is fascinating. (And maybe quite realistic - knock, knock, knock) What would I do in this year? What is important to me? Who is important to me? How not to waste time with bores, unnecessary chores, pointless anger - but bathing in love, meaning, and beauty, in sunshine? What would I like to clear/heal as long as I still am able?  

And: what will I have to do to leave no chaos behind me? 

In Berlin I have a fantastic little book: 

"Dostadning: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" by Margareta Magnusson. 

As you see: I will stay true to myself. My son would say - smiling a bit patronisingy:  "Typical Mama - "How To"-Books till the end!"    :-)   

"Candles for - Germany?"

 

In a comment on my blog "...sunshine, freedom and a little flower" Pipistrello from "Flying With Hands" asked: 

I was talking to a young German girl from my dancing class, from Cologne. She told me this winter schools and universities will remain online in her area as they expect not to be able to afford to heat the classrooms to the required 17 degrees to keep all the technology running smoothly. Is this likely to be true? 

Part of my answer: "Since September we have an official enactment for public buildings to put temperature down to 18°C degrees when people sit - when they walk: 17 °C (hahahaha). No warm water in public buildings to wash your hands (except in hospitals, schools, or homes for the elderly). "

So, universities keep open, schools too. But today in the news I heard complaints of a local sport club (and they are not the only ones) which cannot pay the enormous sums that are demanded now for energy. 

Same problem for e.g. bakeries, gastronomy - and people with a small income too. 

A lot of work was not done in the last decades - profits were taken, but not much invested - the state of bridges, of railways, roads often is deplorable. 

I do hope that we learn by that - though I am not so optimistic - seeing the news today I wondered if people ever learn. 

PS: To get the whole picture not too gloomy - we still are a very rich country and pay a lot to help others - I will tell you a story of my past, long ago - I have forgotten which year it was, but English people will know. I was on my way to England, and shortly before I heard of a heavy power cut in England. 

One trait of me is that I often believe to quick. So I packed many candles into my suitcase - and my English friends still tease me: "Ah - candles for England!" 

 

Well...hmm...Changed my mind...I'm just sitting on a fence...

 As you might have seen that I, fickle, changed my mind again and decided to keep the blog about gardens, plants and parks - but now I write it in English. 

I managed to change the header into English and hope you will see that on the blogroll next day (today Google still keeps the German blog title "...und eine kleine Blume muss man haben", but the text is in English), but I was not able to change the blog address - thus you will find "...sunshine, freedom, and a little flower" still under the German link

 

https://blumenundgarten.blogspot.com 

- but in my humble attempts to write in English. 

The topics remain the same: plants in all varieties, my visits to gardens and parks, quotes about plants in literature or in paintings - and whatever other topics I find flying around like parachutes of dandelion. 

I would enjoy it very much if you come with me - five of you are already there - please bring with you a picnic blanket and a botanist's specimen container, and then we'll pick together some beautiful moments for our herbarium.    

 

A defoliated blog - so appropriate for autumn

OK - I come to my senses. 

I admit that my blog "... und eine kleine Blume muss man auch haben" - which I have written in German - with Google sometimes changes into awful English translations  - is damned to wither.  

Here in "You are witty and pretty" I might write awful English too - but what you read here are my own blunders, my faults - and not Google's. 

I am a woman of quick decisions. If at the stock market I am not convinced that a share is worth its money - I sell it (although I can be very stubborn and keep it against all croaks of the fire-bellied toad if I am convinced of their potential). Quick and without (much) remorse. Then I forget about it. 

I will do that with the plant&flowers&garden-blog too - though plants in all forms are what I really love and what I am deeply interested in. I told myself that I can - as I have a hotchpotch blog - add and twine some flowers or news from the world of plants into it. 

Above you see the latest - but not the last - bunch of wild flowers I pick here on my walks in Bavaria - I'm always modest and take only a few, and if a bee sits on it I will not pick it. 

They are offerings from nature, the arrangement is by me. 

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 :-)