I Can´t Hear!

I know, it´s not really healthy to eat with the TV on.
But I grew up like that - is that a proper excuse? I simply blame my parents ;-)
Plus... we had tomatoes, that is healthy, right? ;-)

Oh how annoying it got when the transponder broke and we were left without sound!

Well.
I have an Ingo, right?

Since that thing sits right to my left hand and since I´m sadly prone to break things, Ingo took care also of that:

The original, black antenna was in the middle, where you can see a hole.
Red is much nicer anyways, right?

No More Bugs!

I wasn´t that good in math at school (bummer, huh?!!! LOL).
So I had to ask Ingo for compass and set square and it was even fun using them, too.

The title?

Those bugs went to the bin :-)
Bugs, btw, just to make you shake your head: Unlike the endless rows with insect killers like in Woolies, I´d like to show you ours:

Yes. "That´s all, folks!" Just that upper shelf, that small space. One of the few good things about living in Germany, it´s too cold for bugs.

I ended up with 9 substitutes for the bugs:

Ingo had a look:

... and asked me if I have a plastic "cork" and will you believe it, just the other day I found one and... tadaaa...

From a Rotkäppchen-sparkling wine-bottle, another great product from former GDR.
Why I kept it? Well, you can put in salt to take to work. Just as one example!

Ingo added just yet another tool:

Every 120° he drilled a hole in the "cork" and put a stick through to hang the balloons on.
Clever, no?

Later he took a thick, white sheet of paper...

And here you see the finished thingy:

Much, much better than those ugly bugs that hung there before, right?

winterkunstzeit

Yesterday it was "winterkunstzeit" as in winter plus art and open shops.
To make it art it was in lower case. For a start.
Sorry for being ironic, but at times I forget that Braunschweig is ... well "just" Braunschweig, but, we went, that counts, right...

The "photobombing" couple in pic above actually made the pic, don´t you think, the lion has a rather grim face.

It wasn´t even cold with around 10C, yet, scarfs are a good idea, no?

You could get something sweet every couple of steps - what would I´ve given for a hearty pie, but, nada, that won´t happen in my lifetime here, it seems!
(There is a café that offers hearty pies, but we never went as they are HUUUGE pies, no, thank you.)

As we thankfully had no real winter this time they seemed to have switched back to Halloween, it seems!

In times like these I am very sure I have no idea of art altogether...

So, we made our own - might it be better or worse is yours to judge soon ;-)

The open shops btw... just a couple of times a year shops are allowed to open their doors on Sundays.
Bakeries and restaurants are open always, but that´s about it (you can get anything for a lotta money at gas stations, though). Nothing like just hopping into Woolies on a Sunday here!

In the lack of pies we crossed the border, kinda.

I had my first Soljanka only a couple of years ago when our company had a fun-event in Magdeburg, that´s how it looks like:

Old And New

I always wanted to take this pic but mostly there were people inside.

Not Perth, but a nice mixture, too, no?

Disturbing

This is disturbing in more than one way.
The mask, the moustache, the man is colored... is this supposed to tell me something?
In times like these it´s odd.

And the doors are wide open during opening hours - at temps around 0C, too.

I´m just getting old, right?

Dark

They said in the news this is the darkest winter in ten years.
So... it´s not me imagining it, that´s good :-)

And hence I can do something about it, too.

And reckon Spring must be just around the corner.
Well... soon at least!

Not so funny: Today I had to report being unemployed, boy, they even wanted to know when, where and how I finished school. School! Uni I understand (which you can only attend when you have a diploma from German secondary school). After 17 years working in the same job this is important?
Monday start job-hunt.

I really wonder...

What if, against the odds (due to my lack of work experience), we´d proceeded to try and get to Australia.
IELTS-tests were done OK, so...

Well. We didn´t.

So, to all who are lucky:
Happy Straya Day!

Off to meet ex-teamleader for a cuppa soon.

Addendum: here it says the darkest winter since weather-recording...

Ode To Rain

It´s kinda funny.
In my working life I was signed sick three weeks in 2007 due to complete exhaustion after Ingo´s apartment flooded and we had to take care of three apartments - his, mine and our new one, all renovations to be done (the foul smell of a flooded apartment still sticks to my nose as I´m typing).

Then 2014 six weeks when I broke my foot and now two weeks due to exhaustion, sorrows, fears since the job-loss.
The worries aren´t gone, but I feel so much lighter.
And "creative".

It´s a bit like meditation or therapy to me, esp since I still get up 05:20-ish :-).
Hence... more to come :-)
Summer-rain, hopefully, too! Thick, fat, cool drops on a hot day, bliss!

So far, in a tad cooler weather then!

Addendum: Very funny coincidence. I still get the ALDI Newsletter from WA.
Reminds me of when they had skiing gear on offer for Perth!

I couldn´t decide, I would´ve taken all three of them! ;-)

Tea, Anyone?

After I came back from my doc/the city I felt full of positive vibes and had to get creative.

It´s so easy to do these frames from thick paper - ok, these first ones are far from perfect, but isn´t that vintage-style just so fitting for those black-and-white postcards?

As the moustache-pins I always wondered what to do with them...

More to come :-)

I´m A Fan

... of reflections and of... Brussels Sprouts :-)
And I finally did try this receipe.

Sosososo yum! Next time: More cheddar!

From now on, whenever we have Brussels Sprouts I´ll do an extra-load to have this soup later. Quick and easy and really yummy.
Yep, I´m back into the cooking-thing, it seems!

Give it a go if you love Brussels Sprouts, too!

Generations And Decisions

On my way to our "wonderful" grocery-store a while ago I met neighbour H.

She´s in her 80´s - you´d never guess that, 65-70 would apply as well!
We´re so alike, it´s crazy (apart from the chatty-side, she hardly ever stops)!
Pressies for Christmas, she asked me?
Nah, we don´t do that, but every time we see something we do make a pressie for love.
Same.
New Year´s Eve... same...
Thoughts on politics... same..

Nearly twice my age, yet the same.

We even shouted the greetings to the hubbys in unison :-)

One thing different, though.
She would´ve sued the company for terminating me, esp if there is someone working not as long, doing what I can so, go see Local Labour Court, she advised me.

Last Friday morno I went and on the way saw the star. Aww, love it when peeps do that to enjoy passers-by!

Well, boss is clever. The three weeks where I could´ve done something were long over when rumours spread he keeps NameSis doing my job for less money than mine.

My loss, her luck.
She doesn´t care driving or work hours, it´s unfair.

Anyhows, found a lille "mural" on the way...

And some... are they nice?

Or rather menacing?
Yep, I strolled around a bit.
My doc said I´m supposed to, too.

Ingo wakes me up when he leaves, so 05:25 I´m up, making myself busy.
Had brekkie and am off to the bakery soon.

I´m done.
Boss won, I´m out.
17 years, I cannot believe it.
"Six months Wolfsburg, then you´ll work inhouse" turned into 16 years Wolfsburg, one year inhouse and a kick in the ass.

Noooooo... I will NOT end on such a dark note!!!
You know me, I don´t do that, right?!

Times never get THAT sh####! :-)

No, You Didn´t!

(From his study)
- I bought kitchen-towels!
- Saw that, thanks!
- No, you didn´t see it!
- Yes, I did, too!
- No! Otherwise you´d said something!

He just knows me too well, right?

Sooo cute, no?
I certainly did NOT have a closer look... so.. I didn´t really see it.
Love it!
Over 20 years ago I grabbed an Elmo and gave him to Ingo as mascot when I´m gone in the week.
Elmo travelled Australia with us and we were the only adults without kids in Kalgoorlie watching "Elmo in Grouchland" in cinema in 1999.
We even got - by chance - a proper blanket (watch the movie, it´s cute).

So, Ingo brought Elmo home to help us in the household :-)

That other fella?

He´s with us since... dunno... 2005? We never gave him back (and yes, we do have a Miele, too).

Highlight yesterday:

6 hours in the oven at 80C.
When I brought out compost neighbours were chatting outside, asking what´s for dinner, seeing what I got and all exclaiming yummm, Brussels Sprouts! :-)