After a short holiday I'm back again. I haven't had much time to write lately: I'm learning how to drive a car, I had to pass a couple of tests on road rules and first aid AND it's simply been TOO HOT to do anything!! I have tried to do some things around the house but I ran out of energy in about 5 minutes after I had started the job. Besides, I've been running around like crazy, spending most of my days on the bus on my way to the city where I take my driving lessons.
So, yesterday I decided to take some action in my fierce fight with the heat. I went into the first store in town in which I saw one of these: This gizmo does wonders! Now, with this thing turned on most of the time, it's blissfully cool in the house and finally we can breathe normally again (with all this heat even breathing has become an extremely difficult and demanding task).
My other option for cooling down is this: But a word of caution to everyone who intends to use it as a sort of liquid air-conditioning: use it only outside (unless you live in a bathtub, a swimming pool or permanently sealed in a plastic bag) - otherwise everithing else around you will get marvelously wet!!
Well, if you have the same heatwave problem as I do and you just happen to have a useful piece of advice on how to stay cool (and not get deep-fried or boiled), you are welcome to contribute to the good cause of "getting cool"!
Once upon a time there was a littlewho travelled around in her .But as she grew older and bigger, she realised that her vehicle was not big enough for her any more. So she started to think. And on a beautifulSundaymorning she got a brilliant idea:"," she thought to herself. And she did. She spent many hours at home, diligently learning all the rules and signs and everything else she thought a good driver had to know. Finally the big day came. She sat behind the steering wheel of a real car for the first time! She was very excited. However, she had to take many driving lessons, ,before she learnt to drive properly and was given a driving licence. But she waited patiently and it all paid off. Now she can drive her parents' and when she manages to save enough money, she will buy herself a little of her own,too.
(This is a short summary of what I am doing these days.)
While surfing the Internet I stumbled upon this extraorinary means of transport. It's called SEGWAY (click the name if you want to visit their homepage). It's a two-wheel scooter which, believe it or not, is impossible to tip over. It's not too fast, so you don't have to worry about bumps and bruises while learning how to drive it. It doesn't need much space and is therefore the perfect vehicle for trips around the city centre. It can get you anywhere safely and quickly. It comes in different coloures, sizes and even with four wheels (as a sort of ATV).
I wish I had one!! Hmmm, I wonder where I can buy one...
Last night, when I was watching the news on TV, there was a piece about the world's most important of the unimportant things at the moment, football (or soccer, as some of you know it). The journalist was explaining how this whole football-fever didn't touch the USA. To prove that, there was a live statement, given by a New Yorker: "No, I don't really care about the football world cup. I don't even know where half of these countries are!" (By "these countries" he meant the participants of the world-cup.)
Now, this was uttered by a man of 30-something in a fancy suit, who wanted to give the impression of an intelectual. The sentence was said in such a way as if he was proud not to know the location of the countries; as if he wanted to prove that all of the countries participating at the event didn't matter or didn't even exist; as if the States were the only country on Earth and the rest of the world simply didn't exist! But the only impression he left on me was one of an incredibly uneducated, tremendously ignorant and just plain old dumb guy who has never even seen a map in his entire life, let alone actually read the names of the countries on one! And I bet that when he gets married (assuming that he'll actually find a bride) he'll promise his wife a honeymoon in Venice or Paris or some other exotic place like that.
Hmmmm, I hope he doesn't get lost in this beautiful world he "proudly" ignores!
I mean the original one, with Joan Hickson. I've been watching the series for a month or two now and I enjoy it tremendously! The reason for my enthusiasm is the way England is portrayed in the series. Especially the English countryside: the villages with numerous cottages and thatched houses, hedges, paths and gardens, full of nice people. And there's always something interesting going on, with the murders and all that. Of course, there are also the good old English manners and courtesy, perfectly displayed in Miss Marple's behaviour. It's one of the few series that actually "transfers" you to the scene, because you get so absorbed in the story. Whenever I watch it, I wish I lived there and then!
This morning I was watching a TV series about cooking. The enthusiasm of the guy on the screen was so contageous that I absolutely wanted to cook or bake or roast or fry or whatever something delicious. After giving it some (but not too much) thought, I decided to bake ... bread! That's right! Bread!
I've been baking bread for quite some time now. We have the bread-maker at home and it's my "sacred" duty to make sure that there's always enough bread in the house. However, today I didn't use the machine. I did the whole thing the oldfashioned way - by hand.
I also used my imagination and spiced the bread up a bit. And by "spiced" I mean literally spiced: I added three kinds of spices in the dough to give it that special flavour and taste.
So, for all of you eager bakers out there, here's my secret of the tasty bread. Use any recipe for plain white or wholemeal bread. Before you start kneading the ingredients into a dough, add a pinch of your favourite spice (I added marjoram and origano and "sheatry" - for all those of you who are foreigners, this is one of out native spices; but it can be any spice you like). Be careful not to use too much of the spice, because too much of the flavour can spoil your bread. If you want, you can grind the spices in a mortar before adding them to the other ingredients. Then, simply go about with the dough as usual. After baking it for an hour you will have a deliciously smelling bread to eat and naturally "flavoured" air in your kitchen. Very appetizing!!
Oh, and another BIG news: I passed my last exam at the university with flying colours!!!!!! Congratulations to me!!!!!!
About an hour and a half ago I finished mowing the lawn. I was slaving away, pushing the lawn mower in front of me, for about an hour and a half. In the middle of my task (just when I was completely absorbed in my work) I ran out of petrol and I had to take a break and make a trip to the petrol station and buy some of that precious "machine life juice". When I finally got back to mowing, I was so worn out that I crawled around the lawn, pushing and pulling the mower in front of me or behind me. Well, I managed to finish the job by nine o'clock. After that I decided to have a nice, long, hot shower and after that relax on the balcony, smelling the fruits of my work ... Absolutely marvellous!
Lately I've been keeping myself busy by thinking what (beside writing my diploma paper) I should do durnig the coming summer months. Well, after all this long pondering over the mind-boggling matter I've decided to do the following:
1)Get myself a dog - I've always wanted to have a dog (if I can quote Richard Dean Anderson here: "Dogs are my favourite people." :-) ) and I finally decided to get one. I would like to get an Australian Shepherd or a Border Collie or just a nice, kind, smart mutt with a sense of care and concern for the owner.
2)Make a pond in our back yard - This will (hopefully) cause an increase in the diversity and number of animals that already come to our garden. At the same time it will make a great haven for my regular "guests" (the hedgehogs, the squirrel, the birds).
For all of you adventurers out there who like to try out and make different things I have a piece of advice. Today I received a book called "Gonzo Gizmos - Projects and Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek" by Simon Quellen Field (you can order the book at Amazon It's a book full of interesting ideas of how to make great gizmos from household items in just a few minutes! It's a great guide-book for all of you "MacGyvers" out there! I strongly recommend it (also to those who want to broaden their horizons and learn something about physics - but in an amusing and most educational way there is: experiments!)!
Two days ago, while watching the surrounding lawns from our balcony, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Teal'c's and Samantha's (this is how I've decided to call my two starlings) extended family has arrived for a holiday. And, let me tell you, when I say extended, I don't mean just an aunt, an uncle and two or three cousins! I think that Samantha's fifth cousin twice removed showed up and Teal'c's long lost uncle came, too!
They were "grazing" (I suppose I can call their feeding frenzy after their long journey "grazing") on the neighbour's lawn accross the road and didn't allow to be disturbed by anything or anybody whatsoever. They were furiously pulling worms from the ground and stabbing bugs with their sharp beaks. They were having quite a barbecue!
To top it all off, after their delicious and nutricious mealthey decided to enjoy the view from a small apple-tree in the middle of the lawn. There were so many of them that the old tree nearly gave way under their weight! After all this fun and excitement they were so exhausted that they moved to a nearby pear-tree (which is much higher than the playground-apple-tree and more secluded, as well) and went to sleep. Since that day we've had the honour to watch the whole flock of birds chasing around our gardens, having fun!
Just minutes ago Amanda (my squirrel) paid me a visit. She came to her park to jog again. But before her regular marathon she decided to climb the old beech tree that stands in the middle of the park. She was up at the top of the tree before you could say "walnut" and she decided to sit there and look around. Then she came jumping down the trunk again and started her marathon. I didn't want to disturb her any longer ...
I am back! Today I had my last exam at the university and I hope that now I'll have more time to devote to my blog and to other activities, as well.
First I intend to complete Mission Juggling. I have always wanted to learn how to juggle but (unfortunately) I never had the time to practice.Well, this is about to change! I intend to practice so long that I'll stop dropping the balls every four or five throws! This may take a loooong time but it doesn't matter - I have no intention of giving it up!So, I'll be back with reports on my progress but in the mean time you can check the link above and try juggling yourself - it's a lot of fun!
