A man's home is his castle

The Schloss Ebenrain is a former country residence that was built as a Summer residence for the wealthy Swiss silk ribbon manufacturer, Martin Bachofen and his family in 1774.

When Bachofen died in 1814 the Schloss was sold to another wealthy Swiss merchant, Johann Ryhiner-Streckeisen.
Seven years later the estate's new owner committed suicide at Schloss Ebenrain. He was facing charges of bigamy, and on 29 July 1824 he took his own life with a pistol.



The gardens to the North and South of the residence were converted to fashionable English parks in the early 1800,s and has unchanged to the present day.

Strolling through the beautiful gardens of the Ebenrain is ever so peaceful, and I can't say that I've experience any uneasy feelings of the past tragedies that happened in the life and times of the rich and famous.

HAVE GREAT WEEK END

If you look at the little Meercat yawning away (he's probably over excited while standing guard) that's what I'm doing today - - yawning and feeling like a Zombie (can't say the same about the over energetic little guy in the pic)
Last night we kind of over indulged in a few litres of good red wine and drinking too many Espressos, with a couple o' people from Germany.
The wine and the small cups of coffees weren't a problem - - the real reason for making me feel "under the weather" today is the result of finding only a palm full of hours to hug my pillow!
"Yaaaawn, (pardon me) on that sleepy note, I'd like to wish you one and all a lovely and relaxing week end.

Snow fleas ?

You may laugh if you wish - but I've never ever heard of a Snow flea before, until I came across this article in a German magazine.

This tiny creature is only 1 to 2 millimeters small and it's also known as the Springtail.

I was most amused to I read about the critter who loves to wallow in the icy snow.

Let's face it, this is a pesty little thing who likes to hitch a free lift onto the warm fur of our 4

legged pets and then jump onto our legs - or other body parts to take another free nibble - - - so why for pity sake would the little "biter" like to hang out in the snow ?

Nevertheless, I think it's rather a cute lill' insect with a very comical face ! Click on the pic for a closer look.

A little midweek nonsense

Big root is watching you

Driving along the road, I caught sight of this very large and strange looking tree root, but stopping just anywhere, to take a pic isn't always allowed, but luckily the road was very quiet and we could stop the car for a few flashing seconds to take a snap shot not to be missed.

Let's play house

These miniature houses and the mini church down below, was seen in a garden, while we walked our dog in one of the many villages here in Switzerland.





The owner placed his miniature house on top of his 3 letter boxes - -

This typical farm house is a real eye catcher, but what I liked most about the scenery was the bunch of Blau Enzian flowers - BLUE GENTIAN, growing right in front of the little house.

This famous schnapps is made from the roots of the yellow or red gentian and enjoyed by Swiss, Germans and Austrians for centuries.

The schnapps made from these roots are known to be very very strong, and the aftermath of

this alcoholic drink, will leave you with a terrible hangover and a nasty taste in the mouth.

Personally I will skip the schnapps, stick to my glass of red, and enjoy the beauty of this beautiful mountain flower.

The typical Swiss church is much cuter seen in miniature form.

Light after darkness....!

Since the middle of February, our lives have been turned upside down and inside out, due to renovations in and around the complex where we live.

But now we can say Hooray to a spanking new bathroom, tiles and tiled floors.

What a merry mess until the job was completed !

For many weeks my entire flat was covered in a fine white dust, so spitting and polishing was a waste of energy - - even though I've done my daily bit of spitting, the evil white stuff was right back the very next day !

When we thought the hammering, boring and drilling had finally come to an end, our elevator was removed from the lift shaft - - and boots were made for walking !
While the tennants got agitated and aggrivated for doing their daily excercise by walking up and down the stairs, the poor workmen was left with a much tougher job 'cause they were instructed to remove the old bathroom in the Penthouse on the top floor and install everything new !
That's no joke carting away tons of rubble and debris down many floors, all day long, for many weeks on end.

The list of drama we've all experienced here for the last few months is endless and everyone's waiting for the work to be done so we can have a wee bit o' our lives back again.

But let me tell you about the electricity board that had to be removed and replaced by a new one.

In our complex we have an employment agency and a Dentist practice, so this job could not be done during any weekday.
We were informed that the job will be done on a Saterday, which meant we will be without electrical power from 8am. to 5pm.

So we locked our front door and escaped the flat with no electricity, for the entire day.
When we arrived home shortly after 5pm. we really looked forward to a cup of coffee and a home cooked meal, but instead of enjoying the bright and blissful pleasures created by Mr. Edison, we were left standing in the dark ages !

At the sound of my stomach complaining loudly for a little food, I remembered my deep freezer
filled with frozen foodstuff, and the thought of me having to remove everything that's gone off by Monday, I started to panic.

While the Ginco family stood in total darkness, our neighbours were enjoying a festival of lights.
By running and 'phoning around (with the cell phone) we finally managed to track down the Electrician who could throw a little light on the subject.

Two hours down the line, we could finally switch on the lights.

I'm still trying to figure out if the blown fuses on the newly installed electricity board was responsible for our faces that turned a paler shade of white, or was it just the hunger pangs !

Ol' Ginco's in full bloom again !!

Today, exactly a year ago, I stopped blogging, it really doesn't feel as long as a year ago, but it just goes to show how quickly one year can pass us by (without us even noticing!) I must honostly say I have missed posting the daily entries and I've missed the good laughs and kind comments of a few people in Bloggyland!! Due to my husband's illness, and running around in circles trying to get our lives back onto the safe rails of life, I simply didn't have the energy and the time to blog. Living in a strange/foreign country certainly didn't make matters easy, and I desperately needed the solid and sound advice of how to cope with a situation gone horribly wrong.
But that's all in the past now, even though I had to learn the hard way - - - most important is, I'm still standing as strong as an old Japanese Ginkgo tree. It's Springtime again, and after a long and tedious Winter period, everything's in full bloom - -and so is the LITTLEGINCOTREE !!