Double-Half
or One Ten without ham

Nope, already standing!
We went to our old hometown today, also to celebrate Bro´s B-Day.



Here we leave the freaking "A7" - I hate this highway, full, fast, dangerous:



One stop was Ingo´s parents house to get a second ladder.
They weren´t home, lucky guys are traveling in warmer fields - the joy of being healthy, mobile and retirees! They´ll be back in December...
Took a pic of their garden, isn´t that just romantic?



Guess who dug the hole for the mini-lake? Didn´t know myself, was this guy!



Then we headed to my hometown - Bro checked my eyes (being an Optometrist helped a lot) - gah, need new glasses!
And certainly I will get the best (on one of them) - why ever we have Australian Standard for Sunglasses here, I will not know. But Bro said he wants to make me one with glasses that turn dark(est) automatically in the sun!
(Australia, here we can come again someday!)

Lunch with Mum was not that fun, she had a bad day.

Then we went to Bro´s place and SIL just handled me over little Miss Mia - heck!!!!
Has this Baby grown!
Heck! Doesn´t she know I cannot handle such a tiny Baby?!
Really, what a Mother is she?! ;-)

K, she showed me how to hold her, after a while Bro showed me how to hold her differently cause my arms got weak.

Will you believe it?! This little, only 2-month-old Girl stood up on my knees!!
I kid you not! She streched her body and stood! I only held her, she did this all alone!

Amazing!
Bro said she probably can see clearly in 1-2 metres, not much more yet - and she really looked hard at Ingo when he told a story.

Here´s a pic with the proud Daddy:



Sadly I was too occupied to ask Ingo to take a pic of me with her - these are pics Bro sent me the other day.

After a while I managed even to drink coffee and eat a bit of a (way too sweet) cake - Baby in arm!!! It is possible!
SIL´s parents came, too, and said she "suits" me.
Aww, well - but only as a Niece, I´m too old for this.

So, I had her in my arms for a little over an hour - the rest of the time poor little Baby (has a cold still) fell asleep - gosh!
How do Mums do this? My arm hurt all the way home, maybe I get sore muscles! She´s about 4 kg - not that much, one would guess, huh?

Well. It was amazing. And fun. To see/hold a Baby so close! Those tiny fingers! She didn´t really know how to express herself yet. At times she looked like crying but then it turned into a smile! She even grabbed my sweater really hard and Bro said, if she gets my hair, I´m in trouble!

She didn´t even mind as I had to laugh real hard when Ingo, taking a piece of fancy cake that was tipping over, said, uh, guess I lay it on it´s side - good timing, man ;-)
He said this as if he meant it - guess he even did!!!!

Well.
Sad thing they don´t live here! I´d love to see them all more often!

As you probably know, Ingo is in what you call Temporary work, in German it´s called Leih (lend/loan)- or Zeit- (well, also temporary )arbeit. Modern slavery.
Less money, if there isn´t enough to do, you stay home either on time you worked overdue already - or it´s your "holiday", even if it´s rainy, nasty weather - more work, you work Sat also, on short notice.

The job market is dead.

But Ingo found an ad, suitable - FINALLY!

He applied on Tuesday.
They said they´ll answer earliest in two weeks.

They E-Mailed him today! Job interview is on 11th!!!

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Please. please cross your fingers on November 11th Ingo get´s a new job! Have a look here! It´s not just any job, it´s all about "Protecting Life - Preserving Value"

They have a video - and it´s made in the style of the video the Karratha LNG Plant, Australia did, too ("Elements")! A sign??
(No really, another video (in German) - Woodside-style! IF Ingo gets the job, guess I have to ask them about it! Same subject after all, huh, protection of nature...)

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It´ll be a permanent job, wee bit more money - and in town!

The 11th will be an eventful day altogether:

- job interview Ingo
- internet dead here and (hopefully!!!) up in the new apartment
- I get my winter-tyres
- we renovate (as every day in November)

(Probably last day tomorrow that we start to go to work from here, too!
Getting up at 4:50 here for a last time... I´ll kinda miss this place, stupid, huh?)



Addendum... after re-watching "Elements" I really have to stress "in the style" only!! "Elements" is really worth watching!!! Best company-"ad" I´ve seen in my life! Highly, highly recommended - all fits! Info, fun, "art", cut, music!

"Success - the final element has been added."

On the way home from work I generously let a car into my lane. A small green one with the perfect name...

And so... I wanted a pic!



It says The King Frog (or as you call him, the The Frog Prince).
Yeah, I know, I´m rather calculating than generous in this one, huh? ;-)

Prince btw... the Emperor is 33 now:



My "little" Bro!!! Happy B-Day!
Sadly the whole little family has the cold... autumn, gah!

Pic taken at the Church!! Anyone any idea why this statue at a Church???
Even the feet are cut off!!!

We were to see "our" apartment at 6 tonight - and we had soooo much time.
So... we strolled around.
Slowly.
Time for me to take pics.

Isn´t this window-shutter just beautiful? Henry (The Lion) all over, so to say:



Or this window, a piece of art, no?



The good ole Germans... they take care wherever they are...
And for in case you don´t know what to do... here are instructions (strangely in German only) - for the resource-"island", how romantic, huh:



Glass... you´ve got an empty bottle of glass? White, Brown or Green? Three holes to take care of that:



Paper? Goes here:



Last one sadly is blurry... plastic, metal and drink-carton.



Welcome to Germany.
Maybe they throw it all into one big container, who knows. Burn it down and forget about it.
But we´re good guys, huh? We do this. At home and even in the city!

on another note... WORK is ahead!
We went to our new apartment today - got the keys! - and saw... we have to work in every room but the toilet and bathroom.
Oh, my.

Flash-Foreward please to... end November now???

We both took two weeks off, but I guess it´ll not be enough!

Funny thing was! - T. gave ME the keys - and a frog was attached!!!
He said his daughter might probably not want him back? But I returned the little fella.


Don´t you just hate moving, all the work???
T said, gah, just park the car second row when moving. And don´t care! - Will save us 100 Euro! Will go to Bro and his friend :-)

Fun was also... was it fun?... when we turned around the corner on our push-bikes, we saw one of the neighbours - and he waved over to us! He recognised us (from the Street Festival)!!!! So did we - like in a village! Ingo sure gets his half!

Well. We have the keys now.
A whole lotta bunch of work ahead. Money to be brought to the hardware store.

And then?
Home, sweet home, I hope!

No idea (just a slight one) about other places... but for us. This is a big deal, I tell ya guys!

... or A Day In Autumn

We went to the hardware store today, it´s just around the corner, a nice walk - look what I found!



It is a heart, right, that water under the car! :-)

Colors, the only good thing about autumn!



All the trucks rushing by here made this tree half-bald!



Some fruit (we didn´t try):




Last not least, a good old Volkswagen Käfer:



The 17 bucks? 16,99 € is the cheapest toilet - we´ll need a new one in the new apartment and won´t go for the cheapest, just had a look today.

Happy weekend!

Pic from WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, author: Ryj

Yesterday we saw a documentary on Velcro - who doesn´t use this awesome stuff?!

Ingo got a blank look, stared at me and said, reeeemember????

It was Cuba.. was it 2001 or 2002? Anyways. We were in our room.

Ingo was about to take off his baseball-cap.

You do this with a certain drive, right?

This was the moment I opened my right shoe. You open a hook-and-loop fastener with a certain drive also, right?

Perfect timing, I tell ya - Ingo looked at me in horror!!!!

He really thought.. well, his hair was gone, sucked in by the cap :-)))

Funny moments, great when they come back like this, while watching how Hook-and-loop fastener/Velcro was invented!

... with their lifes - and my sanity!
This morning on my way to work - it´s pitch-dark then - I saw three cyclists without the lights on.

Can you believe this?

Certainly no helmet either, dark clothes, too. Why bother.


People like me just have to keep an eye on them and all will be fine, right?! They may come from the wrong direction in addition to that, too - well, my good ole Polo will break in time, huh?
Hello, guys, important message: Cars are driven by people and people need time to react!

Can someone explain this to me, please? In times of light produced no longer by man-power but with simple batteries, so you have no extra-efford whatso ever?!

On my way from gym to home (on the push-bike) I nearly drove into a woman - she had:
- no lights
- no helmet
- a kid with no helmet in front on her push-bike

One can only shake his head in disbelief and hope to never hit one, not with bike, not with car.

Certainly healthier than blowing smoke rings!
Amazing animals they sure are...

On our Mondaily walk to the city I saw that oh-so-darn-cute (pic of a) ring!
I will send this to my Bro, so he knows what I´d like to have for X-Mas!
(Think though, with a lotta luck I get the ring he wanted me to make for my Birthday in January - it´s still not ready!)

Here some pics from yesterday´s dinner - this fork mujst be... no idea, must be older than I am? I have it from my Grandma:



So I don´t have to touch the hot potatoe in the jacket :-)




Was yummy, healthy, nearly no calories.
Sounds good?
Nope, Ingo openened vinegar crisps!!! ;-)

Potatoes - some are good, others aren´t! ;-)

Sitting in the kitchen I look outta the window and thought... ? huh? What´s that grey thing? Looks like an Elephant!

Yep:



This is a local phenomenon, btw... they DO something and tell you later that and what they did.
Think it´s something to do with Greenpeace? Not even the site Brunsviga says anything!

So I just end up with: I have an Elephant in front of my kitchen-window!

Other...
We turned on the heating today :-(
18C in the apartment.
Autumn is here:



Cold, rainy - at least still with great colors.

Good things:
Yummy dinner (Steak with potatoes today and "potatoe in the skin (or jacket, thanks, Flea!)" with curd tomorrow (the sake of being only two - sooo much potatoes) - and something good on TV.
And some rest.
Sounding old and unspectacular? I don´t care!

Have a good weekend everyone!

It´s Wednesday - the day I call my Mum.
Today she was cheery. Intelligent, funny, had memories from all her life - and before (eldest Bro and such).
Has started to move to her "new" home!!!! Ok, she only brought some stuff there, but its a start!
A Start initiated by her, all alone - that´s GREAT, that´s the only way it´ll work!
Maybe our soon-to-be-move gives her power/the wish?

Yay-yay-yay.
She also talked about fearing Dimentia, we talked about Parkinson and Alzheimer´s and Depression.
About help being there - we´re getting some place - AND!!

Maybe my Mum is far away from it all.
She didn´t read the paper I got her on Depression yet - she says she needs to want it - ok.
After this talk, I´m ok with that!

Driving the car... she said she has an eye on it - do others have to "drive around her"? If so, she´ll stop using the car!

We talked about her first lovers (again) and, well, about my Dad - that she wished she´d sent me with him to the United States to seek help, a better chance against cancer than we had here - but that...according to one of his (and her) jobs - they were both watch-makers - his time was up - no more accusations to oneself!

Gosh. Maybe Bro and me are just too concerned - and all is well?
Or are there ups and downs on Mum´s side - anyone an idea?

The still good feelings about the sibling-meeting in Mallorca? And next Depression again?
Atm I feel so great for her!

Have the feeling I was lying awake all night long.
All.Night.Long.

That cannot be, right? I must have fallen asleep at some points? Am not even that tired now.

What would I give for a good sleep.
Like a friend of mine. She takes off her glasses, turns down the lights, lays down, and sleeps. Just like that.
Ok, she has a hard time getting up, which is the easiest for me.

I need a time-out.
3-5C this night, gah.

.. burning money.
Just paid the property transfer tax - nearly 2000 € - and Ingo pays as much.
Taxes, I hate them! This is soooo much money - what for?! Huh, state, tell me!

Got my Mum´s money, too, now. It´s really getting real with the new apartment.
Think I´ll take two weeks off for renovating, moving and getting myself together again.
Feeling burned out, like really.

No idea why. As a friend suggested maybe it´s just hormones.

Because actually I have a great life, right?
I need to focus on that.

I have family and friends who help me with this big apartment-thing.
I have a great job, nice colleagues.
I hope to fix the problems with Ingo, too. As soon as he is willing to speak to me.
There is so much I need to say and it´s a terrible feeling not to be able to.

Maybe it´s really the weather, too.
I hate autumn, I hate winter even more. Short days, the long dark evenings, the cold.
My thermometer says 21.5C inside, but my fingers are cold, I´m freezing.

Bout my E-Mail.. no-Thing
He is the most important person in my life.And I am No-Thing to him.
All the books I read, all the advise...
Nothing, huh?
He just doesn´t care about me. Or deoes he???

I hear him sneezing, once, twice, thre times, like always.
Where can I go to???

I asked to talk - we will not do this for a long time, he just said - he at least answered my mail.

A Blog is not the place to talk about that?!
I do have migraine NOW, I feel sick, left alone. Like an idiot. Hurt, humble.Sad.
Not amongst adults. No chance to fix my live.

I have no words and just wanna ask... are you lonely, too?

I feel like the last man on earth

Yes, seems like these entries come more often now. Let´s face it. I can no more.
I love Ingo!
But it seems... it´s a one-way-road - how can that be????

How can that be?

What am I getting up for before 5 am?
It´s Bro´s wedding anniversary - he´s a happy man. I don´t wanna bother him.
The weather is perfect and I feel like ... puking.

I was to watch some political debate.
Ingo even got me a chair. 45 minutes.
Yes, politics are important.
But we won´t change a bit.

I said I want to have us. I had to go. Politics is more important.
My heart aches.
If I had more... power - hey, this is my blog, right??? My diary. Maymbe there is one point I´ll see this and say - NOW!!! NOW IS MY TIME!

I feel like an ant.

Can´t call Bro, he has a very happy day today.

Also ask myself... not me? Who then?

Well, this one is a full success so far - the announcement of my niece´s arrival :-)

It says "there will be hands that carry you, arms where you are safe in and people who will show without questioning that you´re welcome in this this world."

They put together a first picturebook for my Mum, "Oma Bruni" - I find it rather strange it says "Oma" - we used to call our Grandma "Omi". Have to ask Bro about that.

The Semi-Success...
Mum just knew I was up to something (see last post).
She kept people around us all the time till finally we had to go to have lunch.

Afterwards, when we were alone she was busy getting the picturebook and immediately afterwards wanted to show me the pics she took on her trip to Mallorca.

I managed to put my "request" in there, though - I didn´t want to leave her with a bad feeling.
I had printed out the passages from the book I just finished, Die Glücksformel: oder Wie die guten Gefühle entstehen (The formula of Happiness: Or how good feelings arise) - the passage about Depression.

I told her that I had found a place where we got professional help/advise - at least she didn´t flip out on that one.
Told her that the lady, too, thinks it´s "just" Depression and that it can be healed.
But when I suggested to arrange an appointment with a doc for her, she refused - she wants to read the copy first and then let´s see.

Semi-Success... she didn´t freak out, but I got no "no", either.

Bro called and we made this "plan": After his holiday he´ll ask her for the copy and after reading it will pinpoint her to facts and maybe then she agrees for a doc-appointment.

I left her when she was in a happy mood.

...
Certainly I didn´t come home with nothing from my home-town :-)
That would´ve been a crime against this blog´s title, huh? (Cheated again, though, this is not a "Ten Without Ham" from Nico, this is a "Six" from "Pizza-Treff"):



Dunno, they forgot something - tasted like... boring.
Nico, I´ll come back to you!!!

Ingo had the healthier food:



Dunno, I´m not into meat atm...

Interesting thing was, btw...
Mum told my Bro all the positive things of her holiday - only those.
On the phone and today in the restaurant she also told me all the negative stuff about her oldest Brother.
Why that difference? Anyone any clue?