Happy November!

 Happy November to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Rundflug"
"Scenic Flight"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:
"Hanka hat in ihrem Bild einen Uhu eingefangen."
"Hanka has captured an eagle-owl in her picture." 

Owls always look so majestic, especially the larger species.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

Our month was as usual. The theatre season started again and we saw a play (Much Ado About Nothing) and two choir concerts, one from our local choirs. All performances were great!

As most of you know, I love elephants. You find them everywhere in the house. Here is one of my little knick-knacks.

* * *

I can recommend a book to all Jane Austen fans. You can read here about all the authors she often mentions in her novels and 
Romney, Rebecca "Jane Austen's Bookshelf. The Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend" - 2025

* * * 

The German word of the month is:

Vorfreude

In August 2024, I explained the word Schadenfreude. You see, the end of the word is the same: Freude. Which means "Joy". Whereas the former word means pleasure that comes from learning of the troubles of others (longer explanation in my post), this month's word means anticipation, looking forward to a certain event.

* * *

* 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 November! 🎃

Happy October!

Happy October to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Bryggen in Bergen im Herbst"
"Bryggen in Bergen im Herbst"

Frank says to this picture:

"Zum Herbst gehören auch Regentage und so haben wir für den Oktober ein Aquarell aus der regenreichsten Stadt Europas Bergen ausgesucht. "

"Rainy days also belong to autumn, so for October we have chosen a watercolour of Europe's rainiest city Bergen." 

Absolutely beautiful. and so Scandinavian. I have never been to Norway but we have been to Sweden several times. So I thought, I share another picture of a beautiful Swedish city: Göteborg.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

September was calmer than the months before with more friendly events like birthday parties, concerts, and a theatre play.

* * * 

My favourite book last month was "All Our Wordly Goods" (Les Biens de ce monde) by Irène Némirovsky, written in 1942.

* * *

German proverb this month:
Den Teufel an die Wand malen

Literal translation: to paint the devil onto the wall.

Meaning: pessimistic. Fearing the worst, portraying a situation in an overly pessimistic light, or conjuring up a disaster through negative thoughts.

We often say: Mal den Teufel nicht an die Wand! Don't paint the devil onto the wall! if we want to tell people not to see things too negatively. Don't predict anything bad, it might happen.

* * *

* 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 October! 🍁

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 July!

    Happy July to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this

beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"The Small Copper Butterfly's Play of Colours"

"Farbspiel des Kleinen Feuerfalters"

 Frank says to this picture:

"Für das Kalenderblatt Juli haben wir ein Schmetterlingsaquarell ausgewählt. Das Bild zeigt eine Szene mit einem Feuerfalter auf den Blüten des Rainfarns."

"For the July calendar page, we have selected a watercolour painting of a butterfly. The image depicts a scene featuring a small copper butterfly on the blossoms of a tansy plant."

Such a cute picture, don't you think. And it shows the yellow of the sun that we have every day at the moment.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

I wrote last month, that I had been ill for several weeks. I am getting better, the worst part is over, only a few little ailments stay behind.

However, my illness foreshadowed an even worse event. My brother passed away after battling a brain tumour for three years. We will all miss him tremendously.

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

* * *

For the German word of the month, I will repeat one that I used earlier in a post. It is used used to refer to general disorder or a jumble. 

"Kuddelmuddel". 

I was trying to find the origin of the word but it is not totally clear. It's assumed to be from Low German origin. "Muddeln" means something like "mud" or "muck" (Modder in low German).

Wikipedia tells us: "The onomatopoeic compound 'Kuddelmuddel' most likely spread from Berlin in the mid-19th century." They even mention my favourite author, Thomas Mann who, like me, spoke Low German, and used this word in his novella "The Transposed Heads" (Die vertauschten Köpfe) which I should probably read.

* * *

Since I have not read any great books this month, I will go back to Thomas Mann and one of my favourite books ever: Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family. I really recommend 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 July! 😎☀️

Happy June!

   Happy June to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this

beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch

"Blütenzauber der gelben Schwertlilien"
"The Floral Magic of Yellow Irises"

 

Frank says to this picture:

"Ich mag die Schwertlilien. Mich faszinieren die Formen der Blüten und die verschiedenen Farben. Nicht um sonst ist der botanische Name der Schwertlinien, Iris, von der griechischen Göttin des Regenbogens, Iris, abgeleitet ist. Bisher habe ich Schwertlilien in Blau und Violett gemalt."

"I like irises. I am fascinated by the shapes of their blossoms and their various colors. It is not without reason that the botanical name for irises—*Iris*—is derived from Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow. So far, I have painted irises in blue and violet."

Irises are not my favourite flowers and yellow is also not my favourite flower colour but isn't this a fabulous pictures???

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

Some of you might have noticed that I was quite absent from the blog this month. That's because I have been ill for several weeks. I am getting back on my feet again slowly but surely but it might take a while until I am back to normal. I have prepared a few posts for the beginning of the month that I will post but other than that, it will take a while.

* * *

* 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 May!

 Happy May to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this

beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch

"Das Cliff am Südstrand von Sellin im Frühling"

"The Cliff on the South Beach of Sellin in Spring"

Frank says to this picture:

"Es macht immer wieder Spaß, an der Ostsee direkt am Strand zu malen. Einfach mit den Füßen im Stand zu stehen, dem Rauschen der Wellen und den Möwen zuzuhören, die Sonne und den Wind auf der Haut zu spüren."

"It's always a pleasure to paint right on the beach at the Baltic Sea. Simply standing with my feet planted on the sand, listening to the sound of the waves and the seagulls, feeling the sun and the wind on my skin."

I can imagine how beautiful it must be to spend a day on the beach painting - if the weather plays along. I love being at the beach, the air is just wonderful.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

We just happened to go to an open air museum that has three different kinds of windmills, depending on which part of the construction is moving.

We haven't been to the beach last month, but we were able to see a beautiful windmill in a small open air museum in Bad Zwischenahn.

If you haven't seen enough windmills for today, I did a collage of some last year in May (see here). Seems like this is the month for windmills.

* * * 

Since we find more and more people like that nowadays, I will choose this German word of the month:

Schubladendenken

I checked whether there is an English translation for that and found pigeonholing and stereotyping. I think I prefer the latter. We are talking about narrow-mindedness, bigotedness, blindness, ignorance, obstinacy. Haven't we all lost friends we thought were nice people until they let out their political thinking?

* * * 

This month was the first time in years that I didn't finish a book. A friend had lent it to me and I told her I didn't like another one I had read by that author but I would try this. It was even worse. No more books by Ian McEwan.

With my local book club we discussed "The List of Suspicious Things" by Jennie Godfrey. We all quite liked 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 May! 🌷

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 February!

   Happy February to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Wintermorgen in Honnigsvag"
"Winter morning in Honnigsvag"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Bei einer unserer Reisen in den Norden mit der MS Otto Sverdrup von den Hurtigruten haben wir in Norwegen einen wunderschönen 'Wintermorgen in Honnigsvag' erlebt."

"During one of our trips to the north with the MS Otto Sverdrup from Hurtigruten, we experienced a beautiful 'winter morning in Honningsvag' in Norway." 

I have never been to Norway but to other Skandinavian countries and they are all beautiful.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

I can't believe the first month of the year has already passed. Time flies faster every year.

* * *

I read a couple of interesting books last month. 

Brandreth, Gyles "Have You Eaten Grandma?" - 2017
and
Larsen, Nella "Passing" - 1929

While the first one is a funny approach to grammar and spelling, the second is all about racism. How do we perceive people?

* * *

I have two German words for you that somehow belong together:

Fernweh (far away pain) - the longing to go away

Wanderlust (joy and longing to walk) - strong desire to travel

* * *

We had a lot of snow in January, more than in the last years together. I rather have none but we can't choose. On the other hand, I rather have a snowy month than a very hot one.

* * *

I received a beautiful present from a blog friend that will accompany me all year round. A calendar called "A Book Lover's Year". My little reading figurine is sitting right next to it, keeping it company.

* * *

* 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 February! 🧊

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! ☃️

Silvester! - Happy New Year!!!

 Happy New Year to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Schwertlilien in Blau und Violett"
"Irises in Blue and Violet"

Frank says to this picture:
"Die Idee für das Aquarell Schwertlilien in Blau und Violett geht auf einem Ausflug in unserem Dänemark Urlaub zurück.
Im Juni kann man in vielen Gärten, Park und auch so manchem Wegrand Schwertlinien (Iris) bewundern. Sie haben majestätische Blüten in ganz unterschiedlichen Farben."

"The idea for the watercolour Irises in Blue and Violet originated during a trip to Denmark on our holidays.
In June, you can admire irises in many gardens, parks, and along roadsides. They have majestic blossoms in a wide variety of colours." 

Read more on their website here. *

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. 

* * *

Let me introduce you to the word for New Year's Eve in German:
Silvester!

The association of the end of the year with that name comes from the word Forest man, from Latin *silva*, meaning forest, and  dates back to 1582. At that time, the Gregorian calendar reform moved the last day of the year to the anniversary of the death of Sylvester I († December 31, 335). And so, that name stuck, not only in German but also in other languages, especially in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

In Low German, we say: Ooldjahrsavend. This means the evening of the old year.

* * *

There is a lot of superstition about this time of the year. I just saw this joke on the internet: One of my grandmothers always told me I should not go into the new year with dirty laundry. My other grandmother said it is unlucky when you wash "between the years".

And that is the last info about it. From Christmas to New Year, we live between the years, the old one is as good as over, the new one has not yet begun. Do you have those sayings in your languages?

* * *

I wish everyone a happy new year with the words of a wise woman:

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." Oprah Winfrey

* * *

* 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 New Year! 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ 🕛

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 November!

 Happy November to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"The Old Svaneke Lighthouse - Bornholm"
"Svaneke Gamle Fyr - Bornholm"

Frank says to this picture:
"Das Dänemark Aquarell präsentiert den Leuchtturm in einer typischen Landschaft an der Ostsee im ausklingenden Herbst."
"The Denmark watercolor presents the lighthouse in a typical landscape on the Baltic Sea in the late autumn." 

It's always lovely to see a picture with a lighthouse. I love lighthouses. You can see this in my list:
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Lighthouses

When we took our boat tour last month, they had a cute little decoration with a lighthouse there, I just had to take a picture and hope you like it as much as I do.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

And October was again a special month. I celebrated my 15 year blogiversary on the 5^th of the month. For a wedding that would be crystal.

My very first post on October, 5, 2010 was:
Which Austen Heroine are you? I found out that I am Elinor Dashwood. While I always thought I might be Anne Eliot, I can see how Elinor came about. 
If you are interested, who you are supposed to be, there is a link on my page. Let me know, if you've done the test.

* * * 

For our Jane Austen read (see #Reading Austen project) this month, I found a book about Janes Austen's time. And it was a very interesting and detailed book about all the little things we don't know anything about:
Adkins, Roy & Lesley "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago" (aka "Jane Austen's England) - 2013

* * *

And here we have another German expression that fits everywhere but since the colder time of the year is beginning, we might wear slippers sometimes and that's what made me think of this word:

Pantoffelheld

The German word "Pantoffel" means slipper, "Held" is a hero, so a slipper hero. But we are talking about something very different from a hero. It's a man who allows himself to be controlled by his wife and who has no say at home. Of course, in former time that was really bad, nowadays older people often use it for modern men who "help" at home. And that's just ridiculous, it's his home as well as hers, why should she carry all the burden especially sind most women work for their money today, as well.

Anyway, the English expression would be hen-pecked. Do you know of similar expressions in other languages?

* * *

* 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 November! 🎃

Happy October!

Happy October to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Ganz in Familie auf der Kranichwiese"
"All in the family on the crane meadow"

Frank says to this picture:
"Es ist immer wieder spannend, die Kraniche auf den Wiesen und Feldern zu beobachten. Gerade wenn im Herbst für die Vögel des Glücks der Tisch reichlich gedeckt ist."
"It's always exciting again to watch the cranes in the meadows and fields, especially when the table is richly laid in autumn for these birds of joy." 

Another beautiful picture. I love when the cranes fly in autumn and you can see their formations in the sky. A couple of years ago I was lucky to have the opportunity to take a picture of one.

Isn't that just beautiful?

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

September, my favourite month, was more a month of concerts but next month, there will be some plays in the theatre again. Otherwise, it was pretty quiet, some meetings with friends, some visits to the restaurant and an outing on a boat with my sick brother and his wife.

* * * 

Our Jane Austen read (see #Reading Austen project) this month was "Northanger Abbey" which has always been my least favourite novel by Jane Austen. However, I have quite enjoyed it this month. I can hardly believe that the year is almost over.

* * *

Not really a saying or a proverb this month but a word that is very important to Germans at this time of year:
Übergangsjacke

If you have learned German in school (or have a little feeling for languages), you probably know that Jacke means jacket. Übergang can usually mean passage, segue or crossing but in this case, it means transition. This is a jacket that you wear when it might be too cold for your summer jacket or too hot for your winter one. So, you wear your "Übergangsjacke" for a while until it gets colder.

Do you have a word for jackets like that in your language?

* * *

* 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 October! 🍁

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! 🍂