laughing your head off

Thank you hormonal hysteria a.k.a. laughing your head off. Remember being in the early teens and laughing so heard, you thought you are going to pass out? Well lately the girls and me have been in these laughing fits and we just can't stop.

sunset over Wachusetts reservoir

Thank you sky for such a beautiful sunset over the Wachusetts reservoir while we had dinner at the Twigs Cafe of Tower Hill Botanical Garden. And a shout out to serendipity - we had a good time when a chance encounter resulted in welcome dinner company. What a beautiful day...

smiling happiness

It made me really glad just now to see the picture of my friend's sister filled with smiling happiness. She had to wade through quite some crap and now gets to have some bliss and I think that is so wonderful. I think I can feel the good vibes emanating from 14379.842 km away!

Sandpipers

Thank you funny little sandpipers for giving me a new calming and quiet desktop picture.

candlelight on a grey day

Thank you grey and misty day for giving me a reason to light a candle and invite the general coziness of fall into my soul. It is just perfect for studying Monteverdi's music.

Zebragrass

Thank you zebra grass, for gently swaying your bright red color in the breeze of a warm fall day. I love how you are nothing but a bunch of dried, short stalks in the spring, to grow into a huge fountain of green and white stripes, then start to bloom with fire for fall before turning to rustling tan throughout the winter.

pommegranate seeds & sparkling wine

Thank you delicious treat at sunset, you were my invigorating reward for surviving a suburban Saturday. After starting the day off slowly with a little voice saying "i don't feel so good" and the consequences thereof, things got faster:

drive to soccer field and drop off #2 - drive to fair where daddy is fundraising and pick up #1 without the police yelling at me - drive to the YMCA and drop off #1 - drive to Starbucks and get a green tea latte - drive to Panera to pick up lunch - drive to soccer field and watch daughter's team getting completely creamed and make some small talk with other sufferers of suburban Saturday - drive with #2 to drop off team mate with her mom at a different soccer field - drive back to YMCA and plop both in the shower, dress one in spiffy choir uniform and figure out what to do with #2, who only has cleats with her - drive to church to drop off #1 while eating lunch in the car - drive #2 to the fair, this time police is not patient and I drive around the fair like a maniac, because fundraising daddy's phone is ignoring impatient mama's incessantly calling phone - drive home to get changed - drive to church, listen to one bishop, then another bishop and mostly the people behind me, who behave like they are on the Jerry Springer show - sign out daughter, show face at reception for minimum time needed - drive home, throw the car keys in the corner and have a glass of Freixenet with pommegranate seeds!

Rocks

Thank you rocks - for there are so many of you and never is one like the other. You are a natural product of what you are made from, your origin and how your surroundings shaped you and in that sense, you are like people and I embrace that thought of diversity. You tumble in and out of the sea, but that does not weaken you, it just makes you stronger. Rock on!

Rocks found at a small cove by the Marginal Way in Ogunquit Maine.

Polder

Thank you Polder, you old goat Gouda! As far as I am concerned, you get the medal in the hard goat cheese category. Your strong flavor, wonderful crystallized texture and lingering taste are simply divine, especially when paired with the slight acidic tartness of our own nameless apples (seven in all), grown on that old tree outside of this window here. Thank you for a heavenly lunch.

... and in case anyone wonders, this is a small cocktail plate, I love cheese, but I do not eat it by the wheel ;)

Chrysanthemums and Asters

Thank you dear chrysanthemums and asters for brightening my doorstep on this day of the equinox and for weathering the cold nights and warm days of early fall right through the golden season of harvest. You shine and thrive with ease when everything else is taking leave at the end of summer and in that sense you are an antidepressant for the garden.

to-do list

Here's to you to-do list - for letting me use you as a temporary compartment of my brain. Thank you for showing me at the end of the day that I accomplished more than I thought, that I always try to get way more done than I can (call it ambitious, optimistic or over confident) and remind me of all the action items I forgot to add and that will go onto tomorrow's list. And the best thing: putting a check mark next to something done! ......√

Shuffle Songs

Thank you ipod's shuffle function, you sure make it interesting by throwing such an eclectic mix into my aural space. Picking a playlist or genre has the tendency to fix me into a certain mood and you alone are the superhero of total balance and awesome surprise. And thank you for throwing in random chapters of audio books and a few Italian phrases every couple of songs. Shuffle on!

Cox Orange Pippin

Thank you Cox Orange Pippin for being such a wonderful apple, so tender and crisp and thanks to Richard Cox who created you as a seedling of the Ribston Pippin some 200 years ago in England. I also love this apple dues to its connection to a lovely fall afternoon visiting castles with my uncle sometime in the late seventies. We bought a whole crate of these at the 'Schloss Dyck' and kept eating them all day. I hold this memory close to my heart, because my uncle died much toy young. It is special to think of him when going apple picking on a similarly beautiful autumn day enjoying a couple of Cox Orange.

paypal customer service supervisor

Thank you nice supervisor for Paypal customer service to figure out what was wrong with the account. After 6 weeks of emails and just shy of 10 hours on the phone with some nice and some not so nice people, you had a tiny idea with huge impact and I am very grateful that that pesky
error message is a thing of the past. Hurray, I can finally pay :)

Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge

Thank you Armsby Abbey for such an enjoyable glass of this sour flamish ale, it was just delicious. Thank you for a great night out with friends.

ginger citrus bath

Ahh, very thankful for a hot, relaxing bath - followed by a nap.

Sophie and her cello

Thank you daily cello practice, for there are hardly sounds that feel this good. It is like the whole house is joining the vibration. Good vibes from the cello - thank you Sophie for practicing so happily!

99.5

Thank you 99.5. Today you provided magnificent islands of calm in an otherwise crazy day. Every time I sat in my car on the way to somewhere, you gave me music that put a smile on my face. First it was a Moravian Dance by Janacek that made me quite happy, envisioning myself dancing circles of joy in big, wallowing skirts. Later, a lovely baroque horn concerto, a guaranteed good influence on my mood at any time. Most thankful though, am I to the beautiful Bach sonata with period string instruments and recorder performed by the Palladian Ensemble. I quickly put it on my wishlist. ...oh yeah, and I guess an additional thank you very much for having a playlist on your website!

Postcard from Percé, Quebec

Thank you postcard from Percé for providing a little reminder that there are very good days in my life. My children think it is very odd that I send a postcard with motivational greetings to myself on every vacation. But these little pieces of printed cardstock are tangible witnesses, they are like little glowing beacon for dark days, when I feel like I am swallowed by the abyss of difficulties. These postcards throw me a lifeline by bringing me back to the vacation on one hand, but also by giving me a glimpse of the future, of another vacation when things will be alright again. This particular card is even more special, because I wrote it on a very nice Friday morning, it shows a sunset - sappy me, I love those - and I mailed it with a whole bunch of other cards to friends in different countries and did the whole transaction at the post office in French!

Cat

Thank you Greymalkin for sensing when I feel blue and coming to hang out with me.

Distraction

Thank you third installment of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to distract me on such a strange day. Some days are just plain off and not the best. I had to drive my friend to the airport, which is sad enough in itself. But to drive him to the airport in Boston on the morning on 9/11 with the weather and light being exactly like 9 years ago and talking and thinking a lot about the whole horrible day and all that ensued, while seeing people sad at the memorial, it just feels all bad. Add to all of that excruciating back pain from the top of the neck down to the last vertebrae keeping me home instead of frolicking with a bunch of fun German friends at the Oktoberfest .... well, distraction is the only escape. Thank you Suzanne Collins for writing in such a compelling way, that I cannot put the book down and for letting me forget all around me for a while.

Leaves turning color

Thank you first leaves to turn color, for being the harbinger of fall. You are announcing the imminent arrival of my favorite season, the promise of foggy mornings, crisp air, glowing sunsets and the scent of cinnamon and apples. Ahh - autumn! I took this picture today while walking around Walden Pond with Karl, who is visiting from Germany.

Terminal A

Today I was waiting for the arrival of a friend in Terminal A at Logan. With me waiting was a couple with a cute little baby, maybe 5 or 6 month old. They were waiting full of anticipation, checking the status monitor constantly to see if there were updates. Finally their visitors came, I am not sure if it was her parents or his, they all seemed very close. It was a very wonderful scene to watch, the grandfather held the baby first and then handed the little guy to the grandmother, because he was so overcome by his emotions, that he started crying tears of joy and could not stop. The baby’s dad just held him, while the grandmother slipped into her role so easily, like she never did anything else but rock this baby and cuddle him. It was such a touching moment to witness, it made me want to go and hug them all (no, of course I did not).

reusable shopping bag

Dear reusable shopping bag, I wanted to thank you for reminding me of our fantastic vacation up in Bonaventure Quebec and the yummy delicious food we bought at the local IGA for our French picnic on the river bank. You bring good memories every single time I use you, which is very pleasant, since I really don't like lugging groceries around!

Bullseye

Thank you erythema migrans, the bull's eye rash that signals the first stage of Lyme disease. Even though you did not present yourself in the usual pattern, the fact that you came at all and made me aware of the possibility of Lyme disease, is something I am grateful for. One out of five people does not get the rash and progresses unknown to stage two or three of the disease. My daughter has a good chance to escape this debilitating disease with a strict regimen of antibiotics for a month.

Another shout of thanks to fate. If it would not have been for Ben getting so sick with Lyme disease 2 years ago, I would have never done all that research and I would not have taken this as serious as I did. It makes me think that the suffering of one can bring salvation for another in a roundabout way.

The nose of the kayak

Thanks for your cheerfully yellow nose going ahead and pointing the way.

Sunday morning tea on the dock

Sunday morning, the third cup of tea, sitting on a wooden dock and solitude: four of my favorite things all together, it can't get much better than that. Thanks!

sunset

Thank you sunset for being awe inspiring and a moment of peace every single time I see you.

Children's library in Lovell Maine

Thank you library in Lovell, Maine for providing this great children's section in the new addtion, with an abundance of books, a room full of windows and this fantabulous reading nook in one of the corners. I want one for myself! And I really love the way some old favorite characters are included in the mural.

A lake in Maine

Not any lake in Maine, but Lake Kezar with its breathtaking beauty that is constantly changing due to weather or time of day. It was once voted as the most beautiful lake in the world, but I cannot vouch for that, because I have not seen all the lakes in the world (though that would be a fun expedition). It is very special here. It is our forth labor day weekend up here with friends and we are grateful that they take us year after year to play games, hang out, kayak and swim, drink and be merry!

Homegrown tomatoes

My karma seems to be hovering on the low side for some things, but when it comes to tomatoes, I must have done something right in a previous life. To be honest, it is just my great soil preparation and the love and care I put into them now, but there is something funny about the notion of tomato-karma. Anyway, we are standing out there by the plants and we are nashing away daily. And we bring in loads of tomatoes every day. Guess what's for dinner at this house and guess what we still can't get enough of :)

Sunflowers

This spring we started one hundred sunflowers from seeds. We got about half of them to a decent size, when a vicious hailstorm left maybe twentyfive, then the winds came and broke some more and then the drought came. But we managed to get about a dozen in the end and one of them is this huge, enormous sunflower, bigger then my husband. Even bigger is the joy we feel every day walking by. How can a sunflower not make one happy? By the way, they are very thirsty ;)

Click on the picture for a high resolution picture!