Snow Cake

 

This movie was released already in 2007, but I discovered it only now. I am glad I did because I really enjoyed the movie, even though it was kind of a sad story, ...and I always like Alan Rickman's acting, not to mention Sigourney Weaver's performance!

 

Another type of gardening

My husband had a week off and we were finishing many small projects around the house last week, but I still have some plants that need to be planted. Unfortunately, I have been suffering with some type of hay fever, so I am trying to avoid the garden today. At least, I have been researching about the best location for my plants on-line and because of that came across this photo!

It just made me smile :-)

Facebook wall and Monrovia.com — with Kayleen Turner

New entry door

When we were purchasing our house, we knew that we had to replace the front door because of its damage . We ordered it and were told it would be delivered in one or two weeks. It wasn't. As a matter of fact, it was delayed several times and last week - 6 weeks later - it finally arrived at the store where we ordered it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the end of the story. The door was upgraded (we didn't ask for it)  is of a wrong colour ( ...and the frame can't be painted different colour because it has a special coating) and arrived damaged. Really! Could anything else go wrong?

We were really annoyed and expressed our feelings to the store manager as well as the manufacturer which had the following outcome - the new door will be here in 5 days with 50% discount. I guess I can live with that, but my husband said: "Seeing is believing" :-)

Air & Water Show

Chicago annual Air & Water Show takes place this weekend along the Chicago lakefront.
(10 a.m. to 3 p.m. August 17 and 18 from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the center point)

It is said to be the largest free show of its kind in the U.S., only this year military planes and boats will not be participating, but I did see 'the full version' two years ago.

Ettlingen...

" Nestling amid hills and mountains on both sides at the entrance to the valley, coursed by the continuously flowing waters of the Alb; the alleyways and streets throughout the evolved lineage and extent of the squares, vibrant yet without hustle and bustle; a castle in which city scholastic, artistic and social life has established itself; the old quarter that invites you to relax and feel at ease: Ettlingen is a city that exudes the strange but rare sensation that, here, the world is simply alright."

This was written by Josef Werner, a resident journalist in the town, for the first edition of his photographic portrait of the city, which became my home for a few years too.

Ettlingen (population 38 000) is a town in Baden-Württemberg - the third largest of Germany's sixteen states located in the southwestern part of the country with the capital Stuttgart.

Not only is it about 1 hour from Stuttgart, 1 and a half hours from Frankfurt, but also 1 hour from Strasbourg in France and 2 hours from Basel in Switzerland. It is just perfect location if you want to start exploring Europe. I loved living there.
I admit, I did miss a bit an atmosphere of a big city as the closest bigger city was Karlsruhe (8 km, population 300 000), and I will write about this place in my next post, but somehow it wasn't big enough for me :-).
I moved to Ettlingen because of my husband's job offer and it wasn't always easy. I didn't speak the language, had to 'leave everything behind', but I still remember the first day after arrival like it was yesterday, even after so many years... I walked from our apartment to the town center and back...., and felt like I had always lived there...it was home. I have so many great memories!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my favorite places:

 

 

1. Cafe PIEROD

 

 

 



 

Cafe Pierod 

Kirchenplatz 5-7

www.cafe-pierod.de

  

 

 

 

2.

Swimming pool

Albgaubad Ettlingen

Luisenstraße 14

76275 Ettlingen
http://www.albgaubad.de/typo3/index.php?id=15

 

 

 

3.

Lake Buchtzig

 

Badesee Buchtzig

Badesee Buchtzig, Am Baggersee 4
(Nähe Industriegebiet
Ettlingenweier)
76275 Ettlingen

 

 

4. hiking in Black Forest

 

 

 

"The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft). The region is almost rectangular with a length of 160 km (99 miles) and breadth of up to 60 km (37 miles)"

 

 

I hope I will be able to go back in the future, together with my husband...it was our first home and has a special place in my heart.

 

 

Mustard from home

I have found another Czech product - mustard. There are many other brands and types on the market here - anything you can really wish for, but this one brings back memories.
It simply tastes 'Czech' :-)



Garden vision

We are finally finished with the first stage of our garden project. We almost didn't buy this house because of the garden. Well, can you still call a lawn a garden? I wonder....

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature."

 

 

 

No, we definitely didn't buy a house with a "garden" . There was NOTHING in mine. Literally.

This is how it looked 3 weeks ago.

 

Before

 

 

Originally, we wanted to start with creating of our garden next year as we have many other things to work on around the house, but we couldn't take it anymore. The space just looked so desperate. How can one not have ONE tree in a garden!?

At the same time we didn't want to miss this year planting season, so last week we delivered more trees.

 

 

In process





My husband and I managed to put everything in the ground last weekend. It was a very hard work and we were exhausted, but it is so rewarding. I love to look into my garden now, and we have only just started :-)

 

 

After

Next project is a fence, a patio, and of course MORE TREES. There is never enough trees!!!