The Ferrari

Mr. Swiss and I decided to go for a walk. I was dressed for the hike with my camera hanging around my neck ready for some good photos of the natural surroundings and then ….. Yes, the first thing we saw on our local outside parking space was this.

Now I am sure you know what it is. Yes, it is a Ferrari. Now do not ask me for model names or engine strengths, all I know it is a Ferrari because it had that nice little sign of the standing black horse with the yellow background and the car was red. Of course I am sure that Ferraris can be other colours, but red is the colour of a Ferrari to leave a forever imprint on your mind.

Basically cars are made from getting from A to B, that is their purpose. Of course you can travel from A to B in sensible comfort, or you can do it in luxury. Someone where I live, I do not know who, either had this car (which I do not think) or received a visitor with this car which is more probable. In any case my camera was overjoyed to spend a few minutes with me (and Mr. Swiss and his mobile) taking the photos. To oblige the engine room was beneath a transparent cover, so of course Mr. Angloswiss got closer to absorb all the details.

Unfortunately the sun was reflecting on the nice clean shiny well polished cover, but I managed to tone it down a little in a photo programme and now you can see the intestines of this piece of motor art. Note the round shiny bits and the long bits. Ok men (or naturally some ladies) you can now study what is what, if you know what is what. I do not, I just enjoyed taking the photos. Mr. Swiss and I almost forgot that we wanted to walk further and just as Mr. Swiss walked on, I told him to wait, after all it is not every day that I can let my camera have such fun. So let’s have a look at the front of the car where you can see the nice little horse. Our car never seems to shine like this one, but then we do not have a Ferrari.

It's a text, text, text, text world

How do you communicate differently online than in person, if at all? How do you communicate emotion and intent in a purely written medium?

My garden was communicating with me yesterday. In a wordless way he was telling me to clear away the leaves that fell after our Winter storm. Luckily Mr. Swiss saw the leaves as well and volunteered to collect them for the garden garbage. I appeared with my camera and no words were exchanged. He knew by telepathy that I wanted to take a few pictures of the leaves before they disappeared. After being together for 46 years, just a flick of the eye and a small movement is all you need. Mr. Swiss tells me I do not have to shout when I speak, I have a loud voice. On the other hand if I do not shout, he does not pay attention to what I say. Of course he hears me otherwise, but the impact is not the same. 

Online I communicate with a keyboard, be it on a smartphone or computer, Have I missed something?

Of course, there are certain golden oldies that have problems with this new text speak. Famous words of Mr. Swiss “why does she always have to send a text message on the telephone, it would be much easier if she said words, call me and have a conversation” or “he sent an e-mail, but I don’t understand head or tail of it. He always says such strange things”. Yes, such is the confusion in modern life for those of use that might have missed something.

“What’s he talking about LOL?”

“He is just sharing a joke and LOL means laugh out loud.”

“Then why doesn’t he call and we can laugh out loud together.”

You really have to keep up with modern life, because it refuses to slow down to your old ways of talking, saying words and even having a real down to earth discussion/argument.

On the other hand  I can book a flight to London wordless, no speech involved, just follow the instructions supplied by the online website. It might be that your online travel booking-in documents do not arrive as promised, on the evening before the day you fly. This is no problem, just do it all again and with luck they will arrive. The return journey is something else. It all has to be done on the friend’s computer with perhaps a different alignment on the keyboard (I type with a German style keyboard, my friend as an english style keyboard - the “y” and “z” being is alternate positions). No problem, you sweat it out on the day before departure praying that everything will fit and the documents arrive at 9.00 p.m. on the evening before the day of flight departure. So is modern life.

They even have something called “whispernet” on Amazon for uploading my books. Just press the right button on the mouse and my book has travelled to my iPad silently, wordless. The invoice arrives also wordlessly by post once a month from the credit card company.

Today Mr. Swiss collected some of the remains of the Easter shopping. He had a small meeting with a wall in the parking house. The wall decided to move whilst he was parking. I was at home. It seems the damage is digestible. However, the god of auto repairs must have had a few words with the god of tax returns and the daily post brought tidings of good joy from the tax authorities in the shape of a tax refund covering the cost of the small hardly-to-be-seen dent repair with something to spare. We now have our summer tyres on our car and the man at the garage gave Mr. Swiss a chocolate easter bunny (for me?). It will probably be the only one we will have this year.

I was expecting a new enterprising daily prompt today, after the practice run yesterday, but it seems the grid again spoke a silent word of authority and we got the old stuff, so I have written something completely new and impressive. I was actually expecting a full apology from the daily prompt gods, but the word “apology” is not included in their online text, text, text, text.

WordPress Daily Prompt: Road Tripping

Tis the season for road trips — if time and money were out of the equation, what car-based adventure would you go on? (If you don’t or can’t drive, any land-based journey counts.)

Heaven forbid, no I am not doing that again, never. Every year Mr. Swiss and family Angloswiss, with 2 kids, took a road trip to arrive at a holiday destination. Where did we go? We are Swiss, and we stayed in Switzerland in one of those wonderful holiday places with sun, fun and nothing to do. The problem was that you had to do a road trip.

Mr. Swiss and Mrs. Angloswiss were working in the office on Friday, although preparations had been made during the week for the big journey. Washing, ironing, organising what to pack and eventually we were free. We had three weeks holiday, two of which were spent away from it all. It was usually the last week in July, first in August, the so-called watch-makers holidays when the factories in our area were all closed. This was our heat wave season, when daily temperatures were soaring and a good night’s sleep was impossible due to the heat.

Where did we go?: to the Italian part of Switzerland of course, silly question. Where everyone goes because you know you will have good weather, you know that it is the place to be and it is still within the borders of your country, although Italy is perhaps 30 minutes away by car over the border, so you even have the opportunity to make further road trips while you are there. There are a few problems connected with this South Swiss holiday. You have to cross a mountain range to arrive, known as the Gotthard. There is also the San Bernardino, we chose the Gotthard as we generally spent the holiday in places near Lugano or Locarno where you knew it was the place to go and where it was more or less a direct route via Gotthard. Unfortunately thousands of other Swiss, with their families, had the same idea. What was usually a four hour drive could develop into a eight hour drive as everyone was taking the same path to the glorious South.

To ensure avoiding the chaos we left early in the morning. It was not even morning. Dawn was breaking and we parcelled two very sleepy kids into a fully luggage packed car and this was fun? So we began the journey and first hour to Lucerne was OK. It was on the motorway and traffic was flowing. After Lucerne it was no longer flowing so much, now and again it stopped. This was in the days before we had a fantastic, modernised network of motorways and tunnels. We had a choice to either drive over the Gotthard, which now at least had a new motorway, or to load the car onto a train and get pulled through the tunnel. It made no great difference. Either you had long waiting times for the train, or you had to climb up a narrow road to reach the top of the Gotthard where you could afterwards drive down to the sunny side off the mountain leading to the Ticino, as the Italian part of Switzerland is called.

The choice we made varied, but our four hour travel timetable had already been used up and we were approaching the fifth hour when we eventually left the Gotthard behind us and arrived in the glorious South of Switzerland. Now the road trip became a torture. Lugano or Locarno were in the south of Ticino and we had to drive through the complete valley to arrive: the sun was beating down, you had two frustrated kids in the car and we were in a traffic jam. Not just a jam, it was a stop. Now and again we moved a few centimetres, but the view from the window was the same. Remember these were the days when Mrs. Angloswiss had not yet taken her driving test and Mr. Swiss had to do it all by himself. We had left our beds at 3’o clock in the morning. We departed an hour later and it was now around 11 o’clock in the morning and our nerves were no longer awake and ready to go. Our patience had terminated some time ago when one of the kids decided he had to go somewhere. We found one of those rest places along the motorway so we all made the most of it and that problem was put on one side. The motor road through the Tessin is accompanied by many little villages on the way. They would be very pretty and picturesque, but we just did not find time to appreciate them.

Now we were feeling hungry and we made a lunch stop. Actually lunch was planned when we arrived in our holiday apartment/house, but it seemed that lunch in the new place would become evening meal, which it did. Eventually we arrived, some-time in the late afternoon. We must have been suckers for punishment as we did this annually for approximately four years.

One day we decided this Italian sun and fun was enough and we changed our route to the Bernese Overland. It was 2-3 hours away, up in the mountains, and although there were a few bottle necks with traffic, it was easier on the nerves. By this time I had taken my driving test (I was a late beginner) and I had my own car, so we often took both cars, dividing the kids between us. Mr. Swiss had the more powerful car, I had a little Fiat 127, but it was OK, small and handy.

Today we go nowhere. Swiss roads have developed positively over the years and there is a complete network of tunnels, motorways and good wide roads connecting everything. They have even built a new road tunnel through the Gotthard, and here is a film. It takes about 15 minutes, so the film is boring and all you see are tunnel walls. We have done this a few times, and as long as there are no accidents it is OK. If there is an accident it might be closed and only one lane can be used.

I would not advise anyone to travel through Switzerland in Summer. We have snow and ice in winter which causes damage on the roads and also makes road repairs impossible. The repair work is carried out in summer which means a few detours and traffic jams to allow the repair work to be done. I noticed even our local road/street at the high school is closed at the moment because things are being done. So tourists, please no road trips just for the fun of it in Switzerland in Summer. It can become frustrating for the natives who have their own traffic problems.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Earworm

Write whatever you normally write about, and weave in a book quote, film quote, or song lyric that’s been sticking with you this week.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us INSPIRATION.

What an inspiring prompt we have today.

“Write whatever you normally write about”

I normally write about what the daily prompt suggests to write about. One of the reasons I like the daily prompt is that I am never lost for something to write about. When you do it all on your own, you run out of ideas. Now today it seems the one and only reliable daily prompt has also perhaps lost the thread somewhere: but No, read further.

“Weave in a book quote, film quote or song lyric that’s been sticking with you this week.”

I don’t watch many films; prefer to sit outside in the fresh summer air, so no quotes. Perhaps “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me” by Mae West in the film “She Done Him Wrong”. No I do not think so, not exactly ideal for a family WordPress blog.

Song lyric: I forget most of them these days, and they would probably be in Italian or German so not much luck there with the international public belonging to my fan club and intensely grasping every wise word I use in my daily blogs.

I am left with a book quote. What am I reading at the moment? I decided to catch up on the Neil Gaiman book “American Gods”. Just yesterday I read that the main character in the novel known as Shadow bought a second hand car known as a “Pee-Oh-Ess” (piece of shit) because he had to drive to a place called Kay-Ro somewhere in Little Egypt in the States. He didn’t even know what colour the car was because it was so dirty. After driving a few hundred miles he had it washed and found out that it was white of all colours and there was practically no rust. The car had a radio but when Shadow switched it on nothing happened; main thing was the car moved and served its purpose.

So it got me thinking, how many cars have we possessed that would go under the name of a “Pee-Oh-Ess”, probably many. I remember our first family car, a Volkswagen Beatle. Just two doors and it was white. Many years ago we all drove off to the Western part of Switzerland: Mr. Swiss, me and two of my childenI believe No. 3 was on the way, my first.. On the way home we sort of drove over a stone, perhaps a dead animal, or a boulder. One way or the other it seemed to do something to the braking power, so we drove home without brakes, only 100 kilometers, but we survived. Needless to say Volkswagen Beatle increased in the “Pee-Oh-Ess” rating and become a Mega “Pee-Oh-Ess”. I believe it was the last journey our “Pee-Oh-Ess” made and afterwards he went to the Car burial grounds.

We had a Simca, we had two Simcas (they no longer exist). I think it was the nice stripy coloured seats it had that really made me fall in love with the cars. Yes they were “Pee-Oh-Ess” in plural so Simca was no longer in the selection. We progressed to Honda. They were lovely cars, not qualifying for the “Pee-Oh-Ess” romantic.

Eventually Mr. Swiss was working for a large car manufacturer centered in Sweden beginning with “V” and ending with an “o”. Definitely not “Pee-Oh-Ess”. Even I felt comfortable behind the wheel of such a power machine. Everyone on the road just moved out of the way when I came with my super large V..o car. I learned to drive with an automatic gear change, disadvantage being that I forgot how to change gears, our car future was embedded in automatic gear change.

So the days of “Pee-Oh-Ess” cars were gone forever in our family.

Amazing what you can write when the prompt is so super inspiring and not a “Pee-Oh-Ess”.

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I am driving again

I was a late starter with my driving lessons. Although I had my first when I was 18 years old in England. A mate of my dad would take me for a driving lesson on Sunday morning. I remember he had a car with the gear lever behind the steering wheel, probably to have the bench seat at the front. Anyhow it was something and nothing. Changing gears and breaking - any fool can do that, but steering. Now that is something to be practiced.
Many years later, after being married for some time and having a growing family we once had a problem. We were on holiday in the Bernese overland and Mr. Swiss had to go into hospital. I was stranded somewhere between the cows and a village with one little supermarket, and Mr. Swiss was in a hospital a half hour away by mountain bus, which only went about once an hour. Eventually Mr. Swiss was let out of the hospital, but I realised that if I had been able to drive a car, life would have been much easier at that time. I was really stranded with children, my english parents and had to make a go of things on foot.

I decided that it was now or never, so after we arrived home I reported for driving lessons. I was actually more at home with a car with lefthand drive as in Switzerland as I preferred changing gears with the right hand. The driving instructor soon discovered that although I was quick to understand the workings of a car, the steering wheel was a weak point. Anyhow to cut a long dismal story short, after about ninety driving lessons I was entered for the driving test. It was the week before we were off on holiday to the alps in the Valais part of Switzerland, around Crans Montana.

On the day of my test, my instructor said not to throw hope away, but the person who was testing me was the driving tester who had the record for being the worst in the area (living in a small place, everyone knows everyone else). I decided to keep my mouth shut and just drive. It seemed to pay off as I passed the first time (did I see my driving instructor make a cross in the air behind the examiner's back when I nodded yes, I did it?).

That was many years ago - 22.07.1982.

I even managed to drive up the mountain roads to untold heights on our holiday. I think it was the euphorie of passing the test, that gave me my daredevil talent. I drove everywhere. Motorways were no problem, my first big journey was with my oldest son to the Basel Zoo. I only look at the zoo now on photos. Of course I had to have my own car. Mr. Swiss drove a Simca at that time, and so I bought a second hand Fiat Top 127. A caramel coloured sweet little car, that would fit in any little space, even if you couldn't steer the car properly (yes, I still had problems).

In the meanwhile Mr. Swiss was working for Volvo (the people that make giant Swedish cars) but I still had my little Fiat, although had then progressed to a Panda and afterwards a Uno. I was then driving about 12 kilometers a day, to and from work and to the supermarket at lunch time to shop and eat lunch.

Mr. Swiss being a few years older than me, was soon retired so we had to make a decision keep the Volvo S90 or my sweet little Fiat that fitted in any little parking space. The answer was obvious and my fate was sealed. I now drove to work in an automatic Volvo S90 and my sweet little Fiat was no longer wanted.

The funny thing is that over the many years I was driving this monster car, I got used to it, to the extent that changing gears was a thing of the past. I was now a fully automatic driver. Even had power steering, so that problem was out of the way. I still couldn't steer, but it was less energy needed.

Today we are both golden oldies and still have a Volvo. So who drives. I never really enjoyed driving, so most of the time I leave it to my other half, the problem being that when you don't drive for a few months you tend to forget how to. We had a arrangement that I would drive home from our shopping trip, but I sort of got out of it when I could. I just do not enjoy driving.

Now I have had to face the fact, that this is not so good. Situtations can arise where I really should drive, so I am slowly but surely getting into the routine again. I have noticed that all the road directions have changed over the years. Roundabouts have been built everywhere, new motorways have been devloped and things are just not like they used to be. I now go to Tai Chi lessons once a week and discovered that the place where I go takes an hour to get there by local train and bus, but just 5 minutes by car, so now I have had to pull myself together and do the thing that has to be done. I have to park on a local supermarket place where places are few and far between. My favourite places are the ones where you have three empty next to each other. Then I can take the middle one. Unfortunately this is not the case, and I have to manoevre my Volvo (I think a V50) into a place where my little Fiat would have had space to spare at the two sides. I also have space to spare with my V50, but I have to fit the car exactly in the middle.

So life goes on, on four wheels. Tomorrow morning I am off to an early morning appointment at the docs, all on my own - but I can do it - I hope.

The Car is Dead, Long Live the Car

I am not the born car driver. There are some people who seem to be integrated in their car when they drive. All the actions, the petrol (gas) tank, the sparking plugs, clutch and break seem to be part of peoples bodies, but not me. A car is something to get from a to b with. As far as I am concerned it can take longer, or quicker, it does not bother me. If I get a red light then I get one, it will turn again to green eventually. I also do not have to have the fastest car, just one that works with no problem. Unfortunately our dear old Volvo S90 began to give his last breaths. There were a few repairs to be made, that we decided it was time, after ten years, to have it replaced. My husband worked for Volvo many years so we sort of became Volvo drivers. Actually in the good old days when we both needed a car for work, he had the volvo (and was welcome to it as far as I was concerned) and I had a Fiat - over the years starting with a Fiat 127 (a sweet little car), then a Panda (also very sweet) and eventually I had my Uno for at least six years, which is a long life for a small Fiat. Afterwards I had a Brava, and then Mr. Swiss went to the eternal retirement grounds so we decided one car was enough. It was also decided the car would be the S90 Volvo. Not that I minded, driving an automatic just suited me, no stupid gears to change, just foot on the accelerator and that was that. It was just a little bit too big for my taste, but if I found two empty parking lots together (three even better) then I managed to park with no problem.

Anyhow last Friday our next car was ready to be picked up. We drove off to the garage knowing that it was the last time we would sit in our good old Volvo S90. I managed to suppress a few tears, especially as it was making strange noises from the side where one of the wheels were and the area around the bumper (now what did the car drive into to make such noise?) Nevertheless we arrived safe and sound at the garage to learn all about the next car - a Volvo V50. Something a bit lighter with the motor, and even a bit shorter. I was told it was two centimeters wider which I was not very happy about. Anyhow the garage owner was ready and waiting for us. We transferred a few odd things from the old car to the new (mostly first aid stuff - me being a first aid person) and then the garage owner told us all about the new car (in Swiss German of course). Luckily Mr. Swiss understood cars better than me as all I really wanted to know was how the car moves. Turn the key and then foot on the accelerator, the rest did not really bother me, but there were a few things with this car that were not the same as with the last car.

Eventually we drove off - well my husband drove and I sat next to him getting used to the feel of the new car. He had to bring the new summer tyres to the tyre dealer where he looks after them for us until next summer and Mr. Swiss found it would be a good idea if I drove home from the tyre center. I told him it was not a good idea as I did not really know the way so well and in a new car that would be a bit risky. Anyhow long story and discussion cut short, we eventually arrived home, Mr. Swiss driving.

Knowing that I should really learn to drive this new masterpiece I gathered my courage in both feet and hands and said I would go for a drive in the new car. Mr. Swiss was very helpful and said he would come too. I am still trying to remember if I invited him. Anyhow I decided to do the route to work, as basically this route and the one to the supermarket are the only two I ever do. Luckily I found the way ok and really did not have big problems. I found that the break and the accelerator were a bit nearer together as the other car, but by the time I had got to the place where I wanted to be I had the hang of things. Mr. Swiss did give a few instructions and advice on the way, but quite honestly I was not really listening, but sort of doing my own thing.

Eventually we arrived home safe and sound and I found, yes, I can drive this car. As I said at the beginning there are people that live in symbiosis with their cars, I don't. On the other hand I did pass my driving test the first way around (after 80 driving lessons). Ah, before I forget, here is our new car.

Was Today Friday 13th?

There are days when you think what shall I write? Then there is a blow of fate and you know what to write. Today was such a day. I had the day off work. Yesterday we were all celebrating Corpus Christi – which actually meant I was cleaning the kitchen and other homely hobbies like ironing and putting some plants in the garden, so I decided to take the day off today which meant 4 days in a row and back to work on Monday. As life was getting boring with no special household chores today I went to see how Mr. Swiss was getting on taking a walk with our blind cat Fluffy. Of course I took the camera with me and accompanied by our big fat black fluffy cat Nera I went on my way. I soon caught up with Mr. Swiss and Fluffy and Tabby was also there, so they all smiled for a photo, well I thought they might, but I suppose cats don’t really smile.

When we got back home Mr. Swiss emptied the letter box to see if anything special had come and opened a letter addressed to him, but actually it was for me, he said. It had his name on it but he meant the contents related to me, so what did we have? A letter from the Kantons police. Here is a translation of the content:

“On Friday 9^th May, 2008 at 07.04 hours (in the morning of course) the following breakage of the law was registered according to article 90 of the national law relating to traffic:

Car registration no. SO ......
Place: Riedholzstrasse, Feldbrunnen (the road to work)
Direction: St. Niklaus (just as I left the castle grounds)
Measured speed: 38 Kilometers per hour
Allowed speed: 30 Kilometers per hour
Safety margin: 5 Kilometers per hour
Speed Exceedance: 3 Kilometers per hour

Well I must say they are very exact arn’t they?

Then came the hammer: Speed exceeded within city limits around 1-5 Kilometers per hour = CHF 40.00

We request that the fine of Forty Swiss Francs is to be settled within 30 days. You will then save (I will save – big deal) further following costs. If you do not transfer this money within the said time, we will commence with the proper actions and give the records to the office of the district attorney. This fine will not be registered.
Should this reservation be sent to the vehicle driver or you would prefer the proper criminal procedure (I am already a criminal?), please return the formula duly filled out on the back of this letter. etc. etc.”

The pink slip at the end of the letter is a ready made payment slip for transfer of the money to the police. In other words I got a speeding fine for being 3 kilometers too fast. Although the letter was addressed to my husband, it seems this is because the car is registered in his name. Perhaps according to the law he should pay but I decided not to pursue this matter. I never really wanted this S90 Volvo. I had such a sweet little fiat and I am sure I that car would never have exceeded the speed limit. When hubby got the senior citizen status we only needed one car, so mine was sold and we kept the Volvo. The problem with a Volvo automatic is that it almost drives itself, just put the foot down and it goes. They are so well made you just don’t notice that they are going fast. Smooth and noiseless – the only problem is the size, but finding two parking spaces empty next to each other is no problem in the park house and at work I always take the space where I can drive straight ahead with no complicated manoevers. Unforunately you have to put the foot on the break youself and look at the speedometer now and again. What annoys me is that where we live we have a 30 Kilometer per hour limit and no-one really keeps to it. When I think of those poor cats that have to risk their lives crossing over the local road. You never see a police control in that area. Come to think of it you never do see them. They must have been hiding behind a tree when I passed and waiting for me. I didn’t get a photo, just a letter. Mr. Swiss says be glad as they are very expensive photos. Apparently I got the cheapest fine possible.I told him it was the car’s fault, but he didn’t really agree.

A Rainy Day

I think this photo from the office window just about sums up the day. It was windy, it was raining, totally unfriendly. The day started well - I forgot to set the alarm yesterday so 30 minutes were missing when I got up. A completely different modus operandi had to be applied, but I still managed to fit everything in - even a quick look on the computer - before driving off to work. We had two absentees at work, meaning the work for five was once again being spread around on the remaining three plus an apprentice. I just love those situations, you can really feel that you have done a good days work when you go home.

Deutsch: Ich glaube diese Foto von der Bureaufenster sagt alles über den Tag. Es regnete, es luftete, total unfreundlich. Der Tag hat gut angefangen, ich vergass die Alarm zu stellen gestern, deshalb 30 Minuten war schon verloren am Anfang von der Tag. Ein ganz andere Plan muss agewendet werden, aber ich habe doch alles machen können - sogar ein schnelle Blick auf dem Computer, bevor ich ging zur Arbeit. wir hätten zwei Abwesender in Büro, was bedeutet noch einmal dass die Arbeit für 5 war wieder auf 3 und ein Lehrling verteilt. Ich liebe solche Situationen, man weiss das man viel gearbeitet hat wenn man zu Hause geht.

This was the view from the entrance to the supermarket at lunchtime when I was finished with the shopping and lunch. It was not just raining, it was pissing down (excuse the strong words, but at the time it was how I felt). When I got back to the office I made a stop in the canteen and took about 5 paper towels with me to dry my hair off. Not that the wet look bothered me, but when the water starts running down your nose and neck, then it is not pleasant.

Deutsch: Hier ist die Blick von der Supermarkteingang am Mittag, nachdem das ich eingekauft und gegessen hätte. Es hat nicht nur geregnet, es hat geschiffen (bitte Ausdruck entschuldigen, aber so war es mir vorgekommen an diese Moment). Wieder im Büro machte ich Halt in die Kantine und nahm etwa 5 Papiertüchli mit mir um meine Haar zu trocknen. Nicht das die nasse "look" mich gestört hat, aber wenn die Wasser tropfen laufe die Nase und Nacken herunter, denn ist es nicht angenehm.

But every cloud has its silver lining and on my way home I saw this from the car window on the private road at our local castle, so decided to take a photo. It is not every day you see something like this. Unfortunately by driving in reverse to get back onto the lane, I had a confrontation with a sharp stone ornament belonging to the castle steps which made a cut in the car bumper. I was not happy about this, but it could have been bigger. Understanding Mr. Swiss found it wasn't so bad and these things can happen. I suppose it is one of the problems you have to face when you are married to a photographer, computer freak, and cat lover.

Deutsch: Aber jede Wolke hat ein Silber Futter (weiss nicht die deutsche Ausdruck für diese Spruch) und auf dem Heimweg sah dieses von der Autofenster auf dem Privatweg beim lokale Schloss und entschloss ein Foto zu machen. Es ist jede Tag, dass man so etwas sieht. Leider beim hinterfahren habe ich ein Stein Ornament beim Schloss Treppe übersehen und es hat ein kleine Schnitt in Stossstange am Auto gemacht. Es hat mich nicht so glücklich gemacht, aber hat schlimmer sein können. Verständnissvoll Herr Schweizer hat gefunden es war nicht so schlimme und solche Sachen kann passieren. Wahrscheinlich ist eine von die Probleme mann muss sich abfinden damit, wenn man mit ein Fotographin, Computer freak und Katzenliebhabe verheiratet ist.

Mass Exodus

Today was a funny day as far as blogging platforms were concerned. I had been in Multiply for about a month now, busily copying all my 100 or so blogs to as a saving programme. After all we knew that 360 was slowly going downhill and had to be resuscitated now and again. Even Iwith my first aid experience could not help. He was just coughing and spluttering and now and again even shed a tear when he saw that the monster Mash was slowly moving in. 360 was very disappointed after all Mash couldn't even blog, he had to have assistance from rss feeds.

I decided it was time to see who else had escaped to Multiply and to invite a few friends. It seemed that today was the day to get to know everyone and meet old acquaintences. One of my blogging colleagues even invited me at the same time as when I invited him. Great blogging minds think alike. I think with time Multiply will be fun, just a matter of getting to know the system. And old 360, what will happen to him. Will he retire and go to the happy blogging grounds or will he strike back and come with something new, spontaneous, original and bugless as all good blogging sites should be. As time is running short, I would be surprised if anyone had heard of 360° Yahoo by the time the new, superior and fantastic version appears on the market. Another sad result could be that Yahoo blogging system goes bankrupt as the dollars will not be flowing any more. Even Mash had an attack of blogging flu yesterday and it took him a whole day to recover. Mash is the progressional form of blogging. You don''t even have to blog in Mash, just blurt and you can even have stuff. Multiply I will stay with you at the moment. I am beginning to even like you.

What else did we do today. I managed to escape again this afternoon and found my way in town. Unfortunately there were no two empty parking spaces in the parking house today, but as I only had to fit myself between a post and another car I decided to risk it, aiming mainly at the post to make sure I would not annoy the car owner. The car guardian angel must have been looking after me today, as I managed to fit my car into the small space with no damage, although it was at a sort of 45° angle which didn't bother me. It might have bothered the Swiss, however, they like things to be neat and in place.

What did I do in town - I went on a shopping spree and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just for I, me and myself. I actually only saw the inside of one clothing shop, the one that specialises for women with larger sizes (funny that I saw no-one of the younger generation in the shop). I managed to find my car again and manoevered out of the parking space. As I drove towards our underground car park where I live, I noticed the local farmer had put his cows onto the small field around the corner. My camera hand started twitching, so I arrived home, dumped the 3 carrier bags full of my tropies and said hi to Mr Swiss and goodbye, just have to deal with something round the corner and off I was. I left my handbag at home and just had the camera with me. There were a few cows munching grass and scratching and doing other cow-like things, so the result was a small video. The cows did not appreciate this as they started walking away - silly cows. The noise in the background towards the end of the film is our local "road train".