Double-Half
or One Ten without ham

Last Monday (not yesterday) on the way home Ingo thought I got lost.
Again.
He was about to look for me!
Again.

Usually it was Mrs H., who sadly now is in a nursing home.
This time it was her Hubby who sped by on his bike (yes, speeding at age 85).

He stopped when he saw me and we chatted. Like "forever".

By golly. 6C!! I nearly froze. He said in the garden he goes to it was MINUS 10C!!! Can you believe that?! In March???
This darn virus must freeze to death in this, no?

I needed a tea afterwards!



But, can you believe that, chive (Schnittlauch, see title) is growing!
If we want some chive?

Guess. We talked some more about recipes.
About our backs (we both have problems).
About his wife, I knew her so well...
We stood 1 1/2 metres apart, certainly, and people passed us in centimeter range :-(

So, next day I I thought I get robbed, but no: Fresh chive!
YUM!
Potatoes, curd with fresh, real chive. YUM.



LOL, I so had to laugh. You call Pellfartoffeln "potatoes in their jacket" - how cute is that?!
Pellkartoffeln just means you peel them. Boring language!

And I guess the chive was given to me with a wee bit of "love", too.
That tastes even better, right!

Love, btw: I used this:



I don´t even know the German word for that special fork, we called it "Piez" :-)

Another 60-90 sketch (This is what it´s all about):



She was easy to sketch, it was fun!

Taking part in Elizabeth and Bleubeard´s "T Stands For Tuesday".

Lion(s) of the day:



Well, this is Domplatz, but we do have a restaurant where you (in some time again maybe) get mainly potatoes, it´s called "Tolle Knolle", "Great Tuber" (sadly no own website).

Mural found on Berliner Street in Braunschweig, sadly I found nothing about the artist.





Taking part again in Sami´s COLOURFULWORLD Monday Murals.

This is one of my fav movies and sadly I had to watch it by myself.



It´s about trust. Sticking together in a marriage, no matter what.
The main character is an 80+ man who wants to run a marathon. He won several in his youth.



His quote may cheer us all up (and how this girl looks longing for love like we all do, no?):



"The whole life is a marathon.
The first steps are easy.
You think nothing can stop you.
Then the pain sets in.
Your power fades.
You think you cannot go on no more. But you keep running.
Keep running.
Till you´re really exhausted.
And at the end... you win.

Count on that. (blinking eye)

Victory"

His wife has... well, what else. Cancer. But ...

She says life goes on, it goes on, always. "Who stops has lost".

"We are like the wind and the ocean. We arrive together, we go together."

"Only 2 km".. haha...



The voice of his now recently gone wife said, "Paulchen, I love you!" ...

And he makes it.

(Der liebste Mann der Welt ist weg)

 s>
>

This is a piece of a paper bark tree.
Grace looped me back.... to two of the most wonderful journeys I was allowed to make.
(We had loads of great journeys, but these were the best!).

This piece is from Millstream Chichester NP, where huuuu.. brrrr... grasshoppers attacked me.



I was wearing one of Ingo´s t-shirts, which means a lot of my skin was "available" (no worries, there was nothing to see!). And I´m rather small.

Those darn critters jumped at my décolleté and grabbed me with their ugly little claws, realised I´m not a tree, kicked me and jumped back.
One after the other, too! EEEEEEK.
To feel them grabbing my skin, EEEEK!!!

And if you don´t know... insects in Australia are a "tad" bigger than here in Europe. EEEEEK.



Ingo went first, so I thought he "wakes them up" and they get at me, so I went first.

Nahhh. Same.
That was 1995.

1999 I bought a blouse way too large so I can huddle up.

Not ONE grasshopper, it wasn´t the season and people looked at me like I was crazy. Ohhh, help! :-)

Thank you, Grace, for the memories ;-)

The paper the paper bark-piece is on is all old, too, it was white once. Now I have to find a way to give both a proper place to "live in" - any creative suggestions?

Oh, how would I love to go back.
See the stars in the un-polluted sky at night.



We left Perth 1999 on December 7th.
Instead of partying into the Milennium!



There was still money left as we always slept in the car on some rest areas or side roads for free.
We had an Esky and rarely "dined" out. And if, it was Pizza Hut, not that expensive. Or Maccas sometimes.

Once (I think that was 1995), in Alice, we went into a real restaurant, into a pizzeria - they had pictures of famous visitors there. Tom Selleck was one of them!!!!
I accidentailly had anchovies on my pizzs. Huhhh. Yes, I still remember that!

At the rest area they had free HOT showers!

I could go on and on.

No Lion, this was AUSTRALIA!

Saw this lady in red the other day, cool outfit, no? I wonder if it was her this gentleman was waiting for?

Instead of a thick jacket I´d prefer this!



I´d so like to see the ocean...



At least there are flowers now...



And despite the cold, 4C at daytime, the trees have enough of it, they start blooming!



We´re both still coughing, so Ingo asked me to take my temperature as at first I was hot, then icy cold. 38,5C. Later it went down to 37,5C. Better, but not good.
Ingo takes the thermometer to work.
So I went to our lille pharmacy nearby to get one.

And take "one" literally - it was the last one and instead of a serious face the lady,, who knows me since years, grinned and ran, came back with a smile.

I got this! A kid´s thermometer :-)



I just feel sad and bad that maybe now a mother might need a thermometer...
Crazy times. There was a sign on the door: no masks or sanatizer available.
I had to give the pin to pay... no sanatizer.
Wash hands, wash hands, wash hands (temp down to 36,1C at daytime).
Ingo checked back with his thermometer. Like the ear specialist he said, "you have small ear canals" and put off the adult part.
Just like my Dad used to when I was 20+. Seesh.



This 2cent-coin became a fish, actually a museum for kids, the Oceanis in Wilhelmshaven, but sure we went a couple of years ago.



Lion of the day, a pharmacy, certainly (I went to our lille Gauß-one, named after certainly Carl Friedrich, the mathematician and physicist.



Thanks again, Valerie!

I´m still laughing.
I was minding my own business, coming from the "good", but farther away grocery store (where except one person everybody was all smiles, friendlier than usual!).

One big bag of potatoes in one hand, a heavy bag in the other, thick, heavy backpack on, too, when suddenly a cyclist came to a sudden halt and stopped me with words... see title!

Next second I have a bunch of chives in my hand!

It was my dear neighbour Mr. H. who´d promised me the day before he´ll get me chives from his garden (not near where we live).
By chance we were on the same route and certainly with Gurri and my happy hat you cannot miss me, LOL.

We chatted for a while, he then - after asking - grabbed the two bags, put them in the basket of his bike and delivered them to our door.
Did I mention he is 85?



I´d prepared a nice bag with all the teas I have and went up to 4th floor as a thanks (he said he loves tea), by golly that man is fit, I needed a while to catch my breath again (old house, high ceilings, hence more steps)!

Really, at first I thought I get robbed or something!!! LOL!

So. In 1st and 4th floor there were potatoes with curd and chives.
If it wasn´t for that darn virus I´d invited him, maybe also to do the cooking, he, as Ingo, is the chef, whereas I´m still the beginner.
SO sad. He is not allowed to see his wife in the nursery home and here we are, same food, different places in one house.
Sad.



At least I wasn´t robbed but given!!

And: Same in your place? Only a certain number of people allowed in the stores, security, you have to take a trolley/shopping cart and most are friendlier than usual!
As if people understand how lucky they are to still be OK (hopefully).

Lion of the day:



To freshly picked chive and sweet neighbours!

Don´t worry, we do not cook giraffes here ;-)
We not even visit them. Are zoos open anyways? (kidding)

No this was...



... from Ingo´s company.
As we don´t drink wine we had to cook, it´s perfect for goulash & co.

Well and these days you don´t dine out anyways, right.
Also these guys are not strong enough to get people inside:



This is for "Tom´s "Signs 2".

Lion of the day:





Hubby again went to work. "Funny" enough he works with heavy machines repairing phones for prisons and psychiatries (among other).
Let´s hope we´re all soon done with being under construction and can live on as usual.

The lille pirate from last week´s T-Day is back, on a plate this time :-)

It was again some left overs.
And no, that has nothing to do with COVID-19, I never waste food ;-)

We need to be thankful for our universe, right (OK, this might be a tad high up, but.... look!):



Ingo´s cuppa.



See who detected which planet, learn!

Another 60-90 sketch (This is what it´s all about):



Seesh, that girl was fast again!!!

Taking part in Elizabeth and Bleubeard´s "T Stands For Tuesday".

Another Lion from Valerie, thank you!



The title?

"Batten down the hatches = A signal to prepare the ship for an upcoming storm" Link here, dear pirates! :-)

Let´s hope the "storm" is over soon!

Went shopping.
Security. You need a trolley. I had a "trolley coin" that did not work and €2. (you need €1).
Security: "You have no money?" On my explanation a customer who left gave me his trolley - with a smile.

Staff needed space with his vehicle for bottles, I put my trolley away. He sad, "thanks!"
It took a while, so I stood waiting.
A lady stomped past me and forced him to go away. I waited. He smiled big at me when he was done and gave me another "thank you!".
Isn´t this just normal behaviour???

At the cash out I said, "credit card, please".
This is Germany, you need to give your pin.
The cash-out lady took the pad away and sanatized it for me. I said "Thank you!" And we chatted a lille about the darn situation.

So glad some people can be nice, still!

And guess!!
The German lady in front of me ignored the distance lines.
The man behind me?
He did not.
He kept the distance. Likely a refugee from Africa who probably did not even speak German, but had a brain that works properly...

We smiled at each other in understanding.