Coconuts and Bananas

I guess this is what we will have in our garden soon instead of apples and cherries if the weather continues to be that tropical ;) – and according to the forecast there is no end in sight! I wouldn’t care much about it, but meanwhile I’m feeling weak, sick and dizzy due to the weather – my blood pressure is almost gone and I always feel as if I had finished a marathon after walking the few stairs up to our apartment! One thing which makes me glad, though, is that this is not an actual illness. However, on Wednesday I will have to see a doctor for a blood test and I may not eat anything before I go there – that could be difficult with such a weather! Well, there is always hope that the forecast is wrong – wouldn’t be the first time :)

The Danube Valley in Summer

Hermann and I went for a walk today in "our" part of the beautiful Danube Valley. Even though the weather was tropical - warm and humid, with sun and rain at the same time - it was very nice to walk along the Danube under a roof of trees. That's why all the pictures are very green ;)

Medical Check-Ups 2009

Today was my first of four medical check-ups which I have to undergo this year. This one was at the gyn’s (everything was okay, thank God!). The second and third ones will take place by the beginning of July – a general and a skin cancer check-up (those two are only every other year, if the doctor does not find anything worrying – which I hope!). The last one will be a check-up at the dentist’s in September.

I do not particularly like medical check-ups (well, who does! *lol*), but of course they are necessary and I’m so glad that they are covered by insurance. Especially the cancer check-ups I find extremely important and I wouldn’t want to miss any of them!

New Layout

As you can see I have played around with the layout and changed it for summer :) I also changed the background of Thy Word Is My Light.

Hyper Creativity

Sometimes I have got so many ideas on my mind that I have got the feeling that my brain will burst. Ideas of topics I could write about, of new blogs or new websites, etc. The problem is, however, that the ideas are all confused in my head and I find no way to put them into a structure. I have to wait until the structure comes by itself – I cannot force it. This is the phase I’m currently in and therefore I’m writing this confused post *lol*

Good Bye, Lenin!

Hermann and I are currently watching the movie “Good Bye, Lenin!” which is comedy and tragedy at the same time. Here is the description from Amazon:

The movie starts in East Germany before the fall of communism; our hero, Alex (Daniel Bruhl), describes how his mother (Katrin Sass), a true believer in the communist cause, has a heart attack when she sees him being clubbed by police at a protest. She falls into a coma for eight months--during which the Berlin Wall comes down. When she awakens, her fragile health must avoid any shocks, so Alex creates an illusive reality around his bedridden mother to convince her that communism is still alive.

The scene above shows Alex’s mother how she “escapes” from her room and gets a glimpse of reunited Germany – and obviously feels as if she was beamed to another planet!

This Makes Your Heart Cry

I found the video above on Renee’s blog and I just had to show it here as well. This little girl is just one of many helpless children who suffer from disease, starvation, neglect, etc. The reason for this is certainly NOT that there in not enough money in this world:

Green Pastures

This is a project Hermann and I have been supporting for a while. I had met the initiators, a US American couple, in 2004, just before the project was starting and – thinking of my own mentally disabled brother – liked the idea immediately. “Green Pastures” is a centre for children with special needs in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. Here they do not only get therapy, but also the parents and relatives can meet and receive information about their child’s particular needs. Meanwhile they even have a day-care centre, where the children can acquire some abilities which in western countries would be taught in special schools. Thinking of the fact that in many countries of the former Soviet Union disabled people are at the lowest end of society and many children are hidden by their parents because they fear the “shame”, not to talk about therapy or schooling for such kids, this centre makes a remarkable difference and I hope that by and by it also contributes to changing the view of the local society on disabled people!

Belt Tightening

We had to buy heating oil and the car needed its regular inspection – all this together cost us about 2000 Euros (1750 GBP, 2800 USD). This means that for the next four weeks we will reduce our expenses to the absolute necessary. We had done that already before our trip to Armenia and I regard it as a challenge to look for bargains and to think about what we really need at all and what can be postponed. It’s always good to improve one’s money saving skills ;)

Summer...

… will soon be here and I received this beautiful gift from my dear friend Annette – thank you :)

Japanese, Anyone?

Yesterday I found out that the link to our Armenia travel report has actually made it to a Japanese blog :) Okay, this is not a mere coincidence – the blog belongs to one of my old friends from my time in London who I notified by e-mail about the site. Sayori and I had been flat mates for a while. She is in the fashion business. Sometimes she publishes lovely photos on her blog, that’s why I visit there occasionally, even though I don’t understand a word of what she writes ;) Anyway, I have added her blog to my blogroll now – maybe one of you happens to speak or at least understand Japanese and is able to read it :)

What Kind of Thinker are You?

This is me ;)

Your Thinking is Abstract and Sequential

You like to do research and collect lots of information. The more facts you have, the easier it is for you to learn. You need to figure things out for yourself and consider all possibilities. You tend to become an expert in the subjects that you study. It's difficult for you to work with people who know less than you do. You aren't a very patient teacher, and you don't like convincing people that you're right.

What Kind of Thinker Are You?

Long Weekend

I hope you had a lovely weekend! We had a long one – today was a holiday, too, due to Pentecost. I have been creative, as you can see *s*, despite a nasty headache. However, I hate to just sit there and do nothing, so I’d rather see what I can do even with an aching head. Of course, these are only things which do not require too much concentration. Today my headache is almost gone, so my spirits are high again. The weather was nice and Hermann even had time to go for a walk with me. We went to the sports centre of our little town – okay, nothing really remarkable, tennis courts, soccer fields, etc. but nonetheless it had been new for me as I had never been there before. Well, I enjoyed the walk with Hermann as unfortunately this does not happen too often, as he has got so much work to do. No reason to complain, though, as he is a free-lancer and if he hasn’t got work there is no money coming in. Therefore we have to be thankful for this!