Happy September!

Happy September to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Herbststrauß"
"Autumn bouquet"

Hanka says to this picture:

"A floral painting to set the mood for the approaching autumn.
Hydrangeas come in the most beautiful colors and a variety of shapes. For this autumn watercolor, I chose light-colored blossoms." 

"Ein Blumenbild zur Einstimmung auf den nahenden Herbst. 

Es gibt sie in den wunderschönsten Farben und verschiedenen Formen - die Hortensien. Für dieses Herbstaquarell habe ich mich für helle Blüten entschieden."

Next to peonies, hydrangeas are my favourite flowers.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

Another sad month. No, things did not get better. My sister-in-law died only nine weeks after her husband, my brother.

* * *

The German expression of the month is something that I can relate to a lot right now, I would love to go far, far away from all this.

"Fernweh" (literally far hurt)
The longing to go away.

* * * 

Two books I can recommend from last month:

Weir, Andy "Project Hail Mary" - 2021

and

Oates, Joyce Carol "Cardiff by the Sea" - 2020

The latter was a buddy read and we intend to read another JCO one in October: "The Accursed" (Goodreads).

Let me know if you are interested in joining us. Here is more information.

Sorry there is not more information this month. I am just not in the mood.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

🍂 I wish you all a very Happy September! 🍂

Happy August!

 Happy August to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Sommer auf Bornholm"
"Summer on Bornholm"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"We discovered a beautiful Danish island: Bornholm. Just a few hours by ferry, and we find ourselves in a Scandinavian paradise. Granite cliffs, archipelago landscapes, turquoise waters, and fine sandy beaches—it has it all." 
"Wir haben eine wunderschöne dänische Insel entdeckt: Bornholm. Nur wenige Stunden mit der Fähre und wir befinden uns in einem skandinavischen Paradies. Granitfelsen, Schärenlandschaften, türkisblaues Meer und feine Sandstrände - alles ist möglich."

I really envy Hanka and Frank to be so close to Scandinavia, one of my favourite parts of this world. But as long as I can't go, I can always enjoy the pictures those two wonderful artists paint.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

The month started with a holiday in Dunkirk. We chose the hottest month of the year (well, so far) but it was still nice, our son had found a great place to stay just at the seaside.

* * *

Other than that, not a good month. We buried my brother, then his wife was diagnosed with cancer, his mother-in-law had a stroke and then my other brother's mother-in-law died. I am glad this month is over. What does D:Ream say: 

"Things can only get better!"

* * *

We still managed to see some friends, play some games and have a barbecue in between. That was some comfort.

And same as last year, we went to that Irish-Scottish folk festival near Bremen where we saw three different acts. It was lovely but also quite stressful sitting on those wooden benches for six hours. Still, lots of lovely music, different from last year, though they all played Molly Malone. ;) We meant to take my sister-in-law but she was too sick, unfortunately.

* * *

New German expression of the month?

"Fremdschämen" (literally strange and ashamed)
The feeling of shame on someone else's behalf

I know we all know the feeling but do you have a word for that?

* * * 

I have read a few books last month (as usual) but there is only one that I might recommend to everybody: Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks. Written in the good old P.G. Wodehouse style, a must for all his fans.

* * *

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

🌊🌞 I wish you all a very Happy August! 🌞🌊

Happy April!

   Happy April to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Fliegen"
"Flying"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Anfang April sind die Ostermärkte die ersten Volksfeste, die in den Innenstädten die Saison eröffnen. Hanka hat in dem Aquarell "Fliegen" eine Szene mit einem Kind auf einem Kettenkarussell vom Ostermarkt eingefangen"

"At the beginning of April, the Easter markets are the first public festivals to open the season in city centers. In her watercolour "Flying," Hanka captured a scene of a child on a swing carousel at one of these Easter markets." 

Read more on their website here. *

Another great reminder of my childhood, like last month. I used to go on any kind of amusement rides. We used to have a huge fair in our district town (well, it still takes place once a year). It's one of the oldest and has about 500 stalls (maybe some fewer when I was little) and it has everything from a simple old fashioned carousel for children to a large roller coaster. I visited them all, of course.

* * *

Let's talk about a well known German word this month:
Weltschmerz 
It's a mental depression or apathy caused by the comparision of the actual state of the world with an ideal world.

I think it is a very apt word for the state of this world.

* * *

My favourite books last month:
Swindells, Robert "Abomination" - 1998
and
Oates, Joyce Carol "Daddy Love" - 2013

Both are definitely not easy, light reads but I don't think I could have read something like that at the moment. 

* * *

A highlight for us this month was the visit to both our boys. We often take the chance of being in a larger city to go have breakfast somewhere nice. The choice for me here is rather small, so I am happy when I find places elsewhere that offer lactose-free or vegan choices as I cannot have anything with dairy. So, this was one of my breakfasts. Loved it.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

🍓 I wish you all a very Happy April! 🍓

Happy March!

  Happy March to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Besuch im Garten"
"Visit in the Garden"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Seit vielen Jahren beobachten wir die kleinen bunten Sänger in unseren Gärten. Egal ob Sommer oder Winter - irgendwie hat man doch ein kleines Lächeln im Gesicht, wenn man die kleinen Vögel sieht. Zeit, ihnen mal wieder ein kleines Aquarell zu widmen."

"For many years we've watched these little colorful songbirds in our gardens. Whether summer or winter, seeing them always brings a smile to our faces. Time to dedicate another little watercolor painting to them." 

Read more on their website here. *

This picture is not only beautiful but a wonderful reminder of my childhood. We always had lots of swallows and songbirds in our garden and they always make me smile. Even now, songbirds are always around us. Beautiful little companions.

* * *

An old weather lore is: "If February is dry and cold 🥶, heat will soon follow in spring". (Ist der Februar trocken und kalt, kommt im März die Hitze bald.) 

* * *
And a poem I found about March:
Never mind March, we know
You're not really mad
Or angry or bad.
You're only blowing the winter away
To get the world ready
For April and May.

* * *

My favourite books last month:
Lanschot, Reinier van "We are Europe" (Dutch: Wij zijn Europa: een nieuw Europees verhaal) - 2024
and
Chevalier, Tracy "The Glassmaker" - 2024

A non-fiction about Europe and the European Community, and a fictional account about living in Venice through the centuries.

* * *

My German word this month is:
Augenweide
this translates into:
A Feast for the Eyes
but word for word:
Eye Pasture

I think this is a good word to make us look forward to the next month, the beginning of spring. You might say Eye Candy but Augenweide means so much more.

* * *

I've checked my February pictures and I found that February seems to be a month where we play board games constantly. We play all year round but I guess it is due to the weather that we play more of them in February. So, here is a collage of some of the games we played during the last couple of weeks. Do you know any of these? Have you  played any of them?

The names of the games are: verkopft, krazyWords, Wie Arsch auf Eimer (it's a perfect match) and Hitster.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

💐 I wish you all a very Happy March! 💐

Happy January!

  Happy January to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Winter in Sicht"
"Winter is Coming"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Hanka zeigt in ihrem Bild Winter in Sicht eine Schneeeule."

"Hanka's picture Winter is Coming depicts a snowy owl." 

I guess every Harry Potter reader has a name for her. Hedwig used to be a popular name in Germany for girls my age but there were not many afterwards though it was used more often in the last 20 years, no doubt because of the famous owl.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. And a lovely December.

* * *

Now, we are at the beginning of a new year. What is 2026 going to bring us? We should all not just hope and pray for peace on earth but try to contribute to it ourselves.

* * *

It's tough to decide my favourite book of the year. I waver back and forth between:

Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023 and
Brooks, Geraldine "Year of Wonders" - 2001

* * *

One of the highlights was the exchange of our DIY Advent Calendar. 25 people get a number each and make 25 packets with the same content. We had a lovely meeting where we exchanged our goodies. That way, we all have a nice little surprise on every day.

I just talked to someone about our nativity scene at Christmas. I have posted a picture already in 2017 and you find it here on my blog. Obviously, as it's a huge tradition in our family, we have added to it over the year and it looks like this in the meantime:

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

☃️ I wish you all a very Happy January! ☃️

Happy December!

  Happy December to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"A Glimpse into the Toy Workshop"
"Blick in die Spielzeugwerkstatt"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:
"Es ist ein Bild aus der Reihe von Hankas Schneemannbildern. Hanka malt jedes Jahr ein Aquarell, im dem ihr Schneemann eine Geschichte, ein kleines Abendteuer erlebt. Dieses Mal besucht er die Wichtel in der Spielzeugwerkstatt des Weihnachtsmanns."
"This is one of Hanka's series of snowman paintings. Every year, Hanka paints a watercolour in which her snowman experiences a story, a little adventure. This time, he visits the elves in Santa's toy workshop." 

We haven't been building a snowman for ages. The boys have outgrown the house, there is less snow every year, we are not as fit as we used to be ... So, it's nice to see Hanka's snowman every year.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

November was a busy month with lots of birthday parties, some concerts and two theatre visits, one of them Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Nights Dream". Fantastic.

* * *

My favourite book last month was:
"107 Days" by Kamala Harris. 

* * *

One of the highlights was the exchange of our DIY Advent Calendar. 25 people get a number each and make 25 packets with the same content. We had a lovely meeting where we exchanged our goodies. That way, we all have a nice little surprise on every day.

* * *

And since we're talking about Advent, I found a lovely quotation by Gudrun Kropp, a German poet, aphorist, children's and non-fiction author:

Advent is a time to reflect on what is truly worth making time for.

With that in mind, I wish you all a wonderful Advent season.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

❄️ I wish you all a very Happy December! ❄️

Happy September!

Happy September to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Unter dem alten Apfelbaum"
"Under the Old Apple Tree"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Da kommen doch jetzt wieder Erinnerungen hoch: Omas schöner Garten mit dem alten Apfelbaum, auf dem wir als Kinder noch klettern konnten und dessen dicke Äste auch noch Kraft hatten, die Schaukeln mit uns zu tragen."
"Memories come flooding back: Grandma's beautiful garden with the old apple tree that we could climb as children and whose thick branches were still strong enough to carry the swings." 

Any fruit tree looks beautiful when it bears its yield. Who wouldn't just love to grab one of those apples now? I also remember climbing into the trees with all the fruit.

Mind you, I have a problem with apple cakes. I never liked these with the dried fruit on the top. Since I am lactose intolerant, I have noticed that most cafés or restaurants that serve cakes have only one lactose-free version, if at all. And that is my least favourite apple cake. Since that is often the only option when I go out with friends and want to eat something to my coffee, I really can't stand it anymore. I wouldn't mind if they offered some non-sweet alternative, like a sandwich but in the afternoon, that is hardly ever offered. So, I go hungry most of the time.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

The theatre season started again. Three open air performances in the last week, one of them "Much Ado About Nothing" by William Shakespeare.

If you haven't seen an adaptation, I can highly recommend the one with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. One of our favourite movies. Have a look here on IMDb.

* * *

I love September. My favourite month. Not just because it's also the month of my birthday but mainly becaue it's the beginning of autumn, my favourite season. The end of summer, the end of the hot weather. So, I was trying to find a German saying about September. But I found a quote instead. I have no idea who said this but I absolutely love it.

"Ah, September! You are the gateway to the season that awakens my soul."
(Ach, September! Du bist das Tor zur Jahreszeit, die meine Seele erweckt.)

Isn't that just beautiful? And so true. It's the month where I can finally breathe again and therefore be myself.

* * * 

My Jane Austen read (see #Reading Austen project) this month was "The Jane Austen Handbook". If you are an Austen fan, I can highly recommend this little edition that tells us a lot about the Regency time.

The other August book I can highly recommend is "Knife" by Salman Rushdie. He tells us about the attack in 2022 and how he came back to life after that.

* * *

One of our outings last month took us to a nearby lake, large enough to have the feeling you are at the sea. The Dümmer See (Wikipedia)

It's less than an hour away and always a nice destination.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

And here is my German expression for this month:
"Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof" (Life is not a pony farm, i.e Life is not a bed of roses)

It means life isn't always easy, you don't always get what you want. It's not an idyllic holiday destination.

In this sense:

🍂 I wish you all a very Happy September! 🍂

Happy July!

Happy July to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Sommerwiese"
"Summer Meadow"
Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"In this watercolor, Hanka played with the colorful blossoms and flowers in summer colors on a meadow."
"Hanka hat in diesem Aquarell mit den bunten Blüten und Blumen in Farben des Sommers auf einer Wiese gespielt."

I love these wild flowers. They remind me of my childhood.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

No big outings this month, though some visitors and lots of meetings with friends.

The temperature changes are really bothering me. We're constantly changing: hot, then thunderstorms, then cold, then hot again, and just when we've gotten used to it, it gets cold again, only to climb again immediately afterward, and so on. This is really bad for me. I feel constantly nauseous and dizzy.

* * *

My German saying this month goes with the picture above:

"Etwas durch die Blume sagen".

It means "Saying something through/with a flower" or "Saying something in a roundabout way". With this you hint at or allude to something, you make a hidden criticism. You express something indirectly, rather than directly and openly. You circumscribe it, or phrase it in a veiled way, often to convey criticism or an unpleasant message without hurting the other person.

I am sure other languages have similar sayings. If you know more in your languages, please, let me know.

* * * 

As I mentioned several times, it's Jane Austen year (see #Reading Austen project), and I am re-reading a book by her every other month. In the other months, I read another book about her. This month, it was "Miss Austen" by Gill Hornby. I don't really like people writing a sequel to a book where the original author died. I never did and I doubt I ever will. So, I guess my next book about Jane Austen (in August) will be a non-fiction again.

I've been reading a few less challenging books lately, partly through my book club, partly because friends lent me books I absolutely "had to read". I need to do something about that.

But, I had another successful attempt at bringing this fabulous author into my life. Lego issued another set about Jane Austen. It was a gift if you ordered something with them and since hubby always has some wishes, he had no problem getting it for me. Here is the finished set:

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

🌸🌼🌺 I wish you all a very Happy July! 🌺🌼🌸

Happy June!

 Happy June to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this

beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch

"Kleiner Traumfänger"

"Little Dream Catcher"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Passend für den internationalen Kindertag und die ersten Sommertage haben wir Hankas Kinder Aquarell gewählt."

"To mark International Children’s Day and the first days of summer, we chose Hanka’s children’s watercolor."

This is an absolutely beautiful painting. We can all dream with the little girl and her bubbles.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

May had some weird weather. We didn't have any rain until the very end, everything was getting too dry and the farmers started to lament. We felt like it was summer already and had some lovely days outside, walking, putting on the barbecue, and an outing with my brothers and their wives. We visited the sensory gardens of a spice producing and importing company. They have 500 different types of plants in gardens from around the world. Lovely place.

* * *

And I was really happy to meet a blog friend, Eva, who happened to pass through the area on her visit to her family in Germany. It was so lovely to get to know her and find out that she was just as nice as on her blog. We both said we were exactly as whe had imagined each other.

* * * 

This month, I want to introduce you to a German saying:

"Die Kirche im Dorf lassen"

This means literally "to keep the church in the village".

Processions from the Catholic churches used to marched through the village. But if the village was too small, they marched "with the church around the village." So, leaving the church in the village meant not being so pompous and exaggerated.

* * * 

As it is Jane Austen year, I am re-reading a book by her every other month. This month, it was "Mansfield Park" - 1814 (The Motherhood and Jane Austen). It is not her most popular one and hardly anyone mentions it as their favourite by Jane Austen. But it is definitely a great book.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

🐞 I wish you all a very Happy June! 🐞

Happy March!

 Happy March to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch

"Am Fluss"

"Along the River"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Für den kommenden Frühling haben wir uns für Hankas Kinder Aquarell entschieden."

"For the coming spring we have chosen Hanka's children's watercolor."

This picture by Hanka remindes me of my childhood. We had a little stream behind our house that would go all the way into the village and we children used to go there and take the way to our favourite places.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

In the middle of February, I heard someone saying on the radio "When will it finally be spring?" And I thought, hey, it's only February. Shortly afterwards, we had two days of snow, the first this winter. And probably the last. I remember winters when we had snow from November until February at the least.

* * *

And there was a less amusing event for all Germans. Elections. After the last coalition collapsed, Chancelor Olaf Scholz (Wikipedia) asked for a vote of confidence which is one of the prerequisites to have new elections.

Of course, the conservative party won and the ultra-right gained 20% of the elections, something most of us feared. Now we hope they won't form a new coalition, that would certainly be a catastrophe. Wish us luck.

* * * 

With the book club, we read a German book by Michel Bergmann, "Herr Klee und Herr Feld", unfortunately not translated into English or any other language. Yet, I hope.

My favourite book of the month was "Jane Austen at Home" by Lucy Worsley. As part of the commenmoration of Jane Austen's 250^th birthday, the Classics Club has started a #Reading Austen project. We are reading a book by her every other month and I have decided do read something Austen-related by her every month. This was a fabulous biography.

* * *

And here is a picture from our two days of snow.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

💐 I wish you all a Happy March 💐

Happy January!

Happy January to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch

"Winterblüten"

"Winter Flowers"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"The Christmas roses bloom in our garden even in January. That is why we show Hanka's watercolor 'Winter Blossoms' on the first calendar page."

"Die Christrosen blühen bei uns im Garten auch im Januar. Deshalb zeigen wir auf dem ersten Kalenderblatt Hanka Aquarell 'Winterblüten'."

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

December is always the time to prepare for Christmas. It can be hectic, it can be busy, but hardly ever is it calm. For me, the beginning was still very busy with doctor's appointments and physical therapy. And several visits to friends and family who had to spend a little longer there.

Also, of course, preparing for Christmas, making plans for menus etc. But that I love. And I managed to buy presents in advance, as well. Yay.

* * *

Some lovely concerts and theatre visits. Some visits to Christmas markets (Bremen and Osnabrück). And advent meetings with friends and family. Always a treat.

And the best part of the month was the visit of our sons. They arrived it almost punctual this year and made it back with just half an hour and an hour delay respectively. Quite a difference to the 12 hours last year!

* * * 

In Germany, we celebrate New Year's Eve (which we call Silvester) in lots of different ways, quiet or loud, with friends or family, on big parties. But we never forget to watch "Dinner for One" which is broadcast on all public TV channels, several times during the day.

The film is only 18 minutes long and is based on a play written by Lauri Wylie. There are only two characters, Miss Sophie and her butler, portrayed by British comedians May Warden and Freddie Frinton. In 1962, German entertainer Peter Frankenfeld watched the sketch in Blackpool and persuaded the two of them to come to Germany and film it there. It has been on German TV every New Year's Eve since then. From there, it made its way into Scandinavia and many other European countries, though not into the United Kingdom. However, here it's tradition! 

 

* * *

 

My favourite books last month were 
"Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead" (PL: Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych) by Olga Tokarczuk
and
"The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig.

* * *

One of the best gifts I received last year was this Lego set. Of course, I had to replace the lady reading the book with a figurine that looked more like me, but other than that, well done, Lego. This is absolutely beautiful.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

2025 I wish you all a Happy January 2025

Happy November!

 Happy November to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch

"Glück gehabt - Maus im Winter"

"Being Lucky - Mouse in Winter"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"By November at the latest, wild animals must have stored up their winter provisions or eaten their reserves for the winter. Hanka captured a mouse in a watercolor painting in exactly such a situation. The picture 'Being Lucky' is therefore the perfect motif for the month of November."

"Spätestens im November müssen die wildlebenden Tiere ihre Wintervorräte angelegt oder ihre Reserven für den Winter angefressen haben. Genau in einer solchen Situation hat Hanka eine Maus in einem Aquarell eingefangen. Das Bild "Glück gehabt" ist damit das passende Motiv für den Monat November."

I love mice. I think they are so cute. Well, I don't want them in my house and when we had some when we moved into our house in the Netherlands, we captured them and put them out into the wild. I couldn't have killed them and my kids would have been very unhappy.

I want to imagine that they used to carry on living as they were destined to.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

October was a lovely autumn month. We had some good weather and could have some lovely walks in our area.

Here's a picture, taken not a hundred meters from our house. There's a little brook surrounded by trees. Just beautiful and calming.

* * * 

I always try to find an interesting German word. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon 

🔮sagenumwoben 🔮

"Sage" means legend, "umwoben" can be translated as "enmeshed", so an "enmeshed legend", "shrouded in legend" or "steeped in myth. It refers to being the subject of legends, occurring in many legends, also figuratively, elevated: very significant, but lying in the dark.

It can mean people, places, or events that are surrounded by legendary stories or have an almost mythical quality due to the tales told about them.

 

* * *

 My favourite book last month was "The Armour of Light" by Ken Follett.

* * *

There are some old German words for October and they are
Nebelung, Nebelmond, Windmond, or Wintermond.

"Nebel" is the German word for "fog", so the first two words mean, the "foggy one" and the "foggy month", then there is the "wind month" and the "winter month". Both don't have to be explained since they are exactly the same in English and German.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

* * *

🎃 I wish you all a Happy November! 🎃

Happy October!

Happy October to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch

"Gimpel"

"Bullfinch"

Hanka says to this picture:

"We photographed these small, beautiful representatives of our garden birds in the Marlow Bird Park before he 'stood' as a model in this watercolor painting."

"Diesen kleinen schönen Vertreter unserer Gartenvögel haben wir im Vogelpark Marlow fotografiert, bevor er in diesem Aquarell Modell 'stand'."

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

September was finally a month where I could breathe. Happy, happy, happy to see my favourite season: Autumn!

* * * 

This is the time of year where a lot of us are starting to read more and I have a great German word to tell you about:

📖 Schmökern 📖

If you look up the word on Google translate, they give you "browse" but it definitely is so much more than that. Originally, it comes from the Low German word "smöken" (to smoke, see where you got that one from). Students used an old book by tearing out a a strip of paper to light the pipe.

But, over the course of the centuries, as so often, it changed its meaning. Not it means: to leisurely browse through books, immersing oneself in the content for the sheer joy and pleasure of it and delve into them without a specific goal.

One of my favourite words.

 

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 My favourite book last month was "Remainders of the Day: More Diaries from The Bookshop, Wigtown" by Shaun Bythell.

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September was also the month of our annual holiday where both our boy met us for a couple of days. We went to Oostende in Belgium, just by the sea. It was beautiful. The weather was fantastic, we had a lovely apartment, everything was close by, especially the ocean.

To give you an impression of the beauty of our holidays, here's a collage:

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The old German word for October is Gilbhart or Weinmond. 

The first word means "yellow" and "hard" and describes the yellow leaves in the autumn. Wein means winte and is self-explanatory, the month where the harvest in the vinyards started.

 

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* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

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🍇 I wish you all a Happy October! 🍇

Happy August!

  Happy August to all my friends and readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Sommerwiese mit Mohnblüten"

"Cranes and Deer in the Meadows"

Frank says to this picture:
"Our small, colourful year-round singers - the goldfinches. They like all kinds of seeds, but teasels and thistles are particular delicacies. In 2016 they were named 'Bird of the Year'."

"Unsere kleinen bunten Ganzjahressänger - die Distelfinken. Sie mögen Samen aller Art, aber besondere Leckerbissen sind Karden und Disteln. Im Jahr 2016 wurden sie zum 'Vogel des Jahres' gekürt.."

Read more on their website here. *

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July was far too hot for me. I cannot stand any heat, I just seem to be functioning on a very reduced level and can only wait for the end of the season to be feeling alive again. And no, you won't hear me complain that it gets too cold in winter. I can always wear another layer of clothing. Having just written that, I noticed that I talked about that last month, as well. But it still bothers me.

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Do you know the Word "Schadenfreude". It's a German compositum of the words "Schaden" for "Harm" and "Freude" for "Joy". Wikipedia explains it like this:  "... is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, pain, suffering, or humiliation of another." Sometimes, it can be excused if someone does something bad and is more or less "punished" through it backfiring. And then people feel Schadenfreude because they feel justice has been done. Like karma. Any other reason is not really nice but we see it all the time.
 
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 My favourite book last month was "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese. 

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When we moved here five years ago, my brothers and their wives gave me this rose bush. It is called Marianne and the flowers look like my favourite one: the peony. But, contrary to that one, this rose blooms at least twice a year and for ages. And it has the sweetest smell. 

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The old German word for August is Ernting or Erntemond. 

Ernte is the German word for harvest which explains the origin of the name.

 

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* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

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🚙 I wish you all a Happy August! 🚙

Happy June!

  Happy June to all my friends and readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Blick auf die Diskobucht - Ein Grönland Aquarell"
"View of Disko Bay - A Greenland Watercolour"

Hanka says to this picture:
"Greenland has an incredibly fascinating landscape. The largest island on earth awaits us with beautiful fjords, calving glaciers, rough rock faces and - what I never thought possible - a sea of flowers in summer."
"Grönland hat eine unglaublich faszinierende Landschaft. Die größte Insel der Erde erwartet uns mit wunderschönen Fjorden, kalbenden Gletschern, rauen Felswänden und - was ich überhaupt nicht für möglich gehalten habe - einem Blumenmeer im Sommer."

Read more on their website here. *

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May is a beautiful month. And we had the loveliest weather. Some thunderstorms but not too bad. And we need the rain for our harvest.
 
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We visited a lovely concert by a great German musician, Götz Alsmann. He mixes modern music with Jazz. He presented his newest album which is not for sale, yet, and there isn't anything on the net, either. So, have a look and a listen here for one of his older performances: L.I.E.B.E.

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Our book club read this month was "If on a Winter's Night a Traveller" (I: Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore) by Italo Calvino. It is one of my favourite books, not an easy one, but totally interesting. Unfortunately, my book club didn't share my enthusiasm.

 
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May is also the month when my favourite flower is in bloom: the peony. Here is a picture from this year:

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The old German word for June is Brachmond. 

Brache is the German word for fallow. In the crop rotation of the Middle Ages, work on the fallow land began this month.

 

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* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

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🌞 I wish you all a Happy June! 🌞