Littleginkgotree

2011-01-31T06:01:00.000-08:00

Why am I feeling the cold so badly, could it be my progressing age or is there another strange reason for this?
I distinctly remember when we had to dig and showel the snow away from a number of cars (a handful of years ago) to find ours that was parked right outside the building - - and may I add, we had freezing cold temperatures of 18deg below 0.
Then why oh why was I so impressed with the lovely white stuff and didn't freeze the fur off my hind tail?

Thank goodness it aint 82 days, but 62 days to go 'til we can feel the warm sunrays on our moaning bones until Spring time at this end of our planet earth.

Hallo Blogggerland, Bye Bye Facebook

2011-01-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

I have tried my hand at Facebook for almost two years, but last nite I decide - -

enough is enough.

I tried to delet my Fb account, but the darn thing kept showing up like a bad penny.

I stayed up and awake until 13.58 this morning to delete all my posts.

What a mission!

A friend told me what to do to reactivate the account - - yet FB was hard in taking

no for an answer.

Anyways, I managed to delete all my posts and effort I have made since joining FB

for the last 2 years.

My eyes are burning and I'm doggy tired due to lack of sleep, but now that I have

seperated myself from FB and will have much more time for more important things.

So before I fall asleep here, I will brew myself a strong cuppa coffee.

See ya all in bloggyland again - - - !

SORRY

2011-01-27T04:54:00.001-08:00

I'm hanging my head in shame for being so slack in blogging.
My intention was to start blogging again after a long absence, but life seems
to get in the way!

The time has come for me to wake up, shape up and do the things I really enjoy.
I have missed blogging, yes, even started Facebook-ing, I thought it was easier and quicker, but what the heck - - one cannot express yourself as on the blog.

I will try my very best to post more often - - I guess it's like typing, once in the
swing, all goes swift and quickly - but leave the typewriter for a number of months
and the poor fingers go slack and slowly across the keyboard.

OK, so I've oiled my typewriter and my fingers...!
I am ready to let the good times/posts roll.

Snowfall before Christmas time

2010-11-27T07:49:00.000-08:00

As we left one of the many shops in Germany today, I noticed it was snowing again.

Perhaps my African heritage is to blame, but when I'm far from home and it strarts snowing, all I wanna do is get back to the safety of "home sweet home"

We loaded our shopping and Xmas "treasures" into the boot of the car, and drove home.

Still it kept on snowing without halt.

A few hours later as I felt brave enough to be safe and soundly home again, I left the comfort of home to take a few pics.

Here a few pics of the garden below and of the river just down the road where we take our doggies for walkies when the sun shines brightly and dog owners will share and compair the habits of their four legged babes.

Out of practice

2010-11-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how quickly one forgets the tips and tricks of blogging.

Although I've been on the blog for 3 years and managed to post a blog entry within a few minutes,, I now find I'm doing it with two left thumbs - - Geeezz!!

With my last post of the German guy and his little 3 wheeler, I've noticed I am left with wide open spaces between every paragraph - - I feel as lost as a rose in the desert sand dunes.

But bear with me - - I will get to the bottom roots of my problem and will soon stand as firm to the ground as the age old Gingko tree.

Caught Red Handed.

2010-11-22T04:30:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Mr. CC and I spent some quality time in good ol' Germany again.

As we left the coffee shop I spotted the strangest little Automobile, and was thankful for having my camera at hand.

I left Mr. CC standing on the sidewalk and crossed the street to take a couple of pics of the cutest yet strange looking little 3 wheeler.

The next moment a tall man, dressed in "war time" gear was ahead of me and headed straight for the little car.

For a split second I was taken back to the past - - a time where I wasn't even born - - the man was dressed in black leather high boots, a long black leather coat and headgear that looked somewhat like the GESTAPO fashion during the dreadful Hitler wartime.

For a moment my blood froze in my veins and at that stage I didn't manage to get a single picture.

As the man unlocked his car door I had to think quickly - - coz I knew he was watching me and I felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

I looked up into sweet nothing-ness and clicked away - - was it a guilt trip? Most definately!!

As the stranger drove away I took my chances and clicked for all I was worth.

Luck was on my side......

The traffic lights turned red and he was forced to wait, still I was clicking away.

While he waited for the traffic lights to turn green, Mr. CC had a few words with him.

It turned out the man is German but lives in Canada, but due to the bitterly cold and long Winter season there, he returns to Germany.

He was all smiles and eventually I overcame my guilt trip and took a last and final picture of the friendly guy , whom I also thanked for allowing me a few pictures.

Shortly before the traffic lights turned green I took one last picture before the stranger was A ans Away.

A taste of home

2010-11-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

I was delighted to receive this bottle of Zulu chili sauce from Mr. CC today.

It still remains a secret where he bought it, but it must have been from

a shop close to home, coz if he'd flown to Africa and back just for purchasing a bottle of Zulu sauce - - he'd have been far too late for his supper.

Nevertheless, I am ever so pleased about my gift and hopingly I won't be doing the Zulu dance after eating a mouthful of Zulu Fire.

HALLO AGAIN

2010-11-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since my last post, but believe me, I've missed blogging.

I've missed all your nice comments and I've missed the sleepless nights thinking about my next blog entry (OK, not quite,) but I've missed the times we've spent together - - me as the blabber, and you my friends, passing comments on all the nonsense I set free!!! Heee heee!!!

I sincerely hope I can get you all together again - - so let's give it a try and see how it goes from here.

Eventhough we're only cyber friends, I've grown accustomed to your friendliness and I have truly and dearly missed you one and all.

I will try my best to make a daily report on all things that make me happy, sad or angry.

So here I am again - - as always the tough and sturdy Little Ginco tree!!!!

Is this for real ?

2009-07-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Laziness is not the reason for me neglecting my blog recently, the real reason is the weather - - it's been dreadfully hot lately and it left me feeling listless, and drained of all energy.
At first we had so much rain that I couldn't imagine enjoying a sunny Summer at all.
Then, all of a sudden it got hot, hotter and now it's at it's hottest!!
OK, I'll stop complaining - - only because NOW IT'S RAINING, and we can all breath freely again - - for how long? that's another question!

So every now and again I'll read something fascinating about the people of China - - but this takes the cake!!
This tiny button is only two years old, but already he smokes a packet of cigarettes a day!
Apparently the little man throws a tantrum and goes totally ballistic if he doesn't get to his daily dose of "nicotine sparks!"
It's bad enough that some of us cannot imagine a single day without the
dreaded drug. Whenever we get uptight, we grab a fag, after a good meal, we reach for the packet , it's a never ending battle to combat the dirty and unhealty habit of smoking!!
We as parents, care so greatly for our children and we'll do anything to keep them safe, happy and healthy - - so why in heaven's name will we introduce a child to the filthy habit of smoking - - let alone a small baby of only two years !old???

Will we ever....?

2009-06-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

What an achievement!! These twin ladies celebrated their 104th Birthday in China and I can't stop wondering what their secret is to such a ripe old age.

Chatting to these women over a cup of tea and listening to the stories they have stored away will be beyond my wildest dreams!!

The sisters dressed in blue are a little younger, only 97 years old, nevertheless I'd sacrifice the best laid table to spend an evening listening to their tales of yesteryear!

Even though we don't know the key to their success, I am still wondering if we will ever be so lucky to compete with these "Tough as boots" Great Dames from China.

Guilty of negligence !

2009-06-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

My humble apologies to all the people in bloggyland for neglecting my blog the way I've done for the past few weeks.

I have no excuses, all I can say is I've been here, there and nowhere.

As a good blogger buddy once said "Life gets in the way!!"

For my deeds, I'll serve prison sentence for as long as it takes to be forgiven!!

Thailand's pride and oy.

2009-06-08T00:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday evening I received an e-mail from my dearest friend who lives in Cape Town, and I would like to share this with everyone out there in bloggyland.

This is a flower from Thailand, it is also a protected species and not allowed to be exported. This will be the only way we will be able to view this flower.

The very rare parror Flower

WHO BUT GOD COULD DO THIS ?

Tribute to David Carradine

2009-06-05T02:29:00.001-07:00

I was totally distraught about the death of this great actor David Carradine.
Caradine was found dead on Thursday in Thailand. The 72 year old actor appeared to have hanged himself in a suite at the luxury Swissotel in Thailand.

He was a great actor, and I remember his suberb performance in the TV Series KUNG FU in the 1970s - - I never missed a single episode of the show when he played the Shaolin priest as Kwai Chang Cane.

What more can I say here except "You will be sadly missed David, not only by me but by millions of viewers from all over the world!!!"

Once again, we've lost another great one !!!!

It's a man's world ?

2009-06-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we do things in good faith and then all goes pear shape.

Above is a picture of my snow white male canary, and he sings so loudly that you can hear him way down our busy street.

Not only is he a superb roller, but a very pleasant little bird as well.

He's lived in our household for the last 5 years, and a few weeks ago I felt so quilty that he lives a life in solitude, that's when I decided to get him a little female companion.

Needless to say, the little guy wasn't amused with the imposter in his cage, or as Mr. CC said "The little guy was practically forced into an unwanted marriage!"

Above is a pic (the best pose I will ever get of the little female demon)

One week after madam's arrival, I saw her sitting constantly in the seed bowl, and refused to move from her comfy spot.

The following morning, while cleaning their cage, I saw the reason why she was so reluctant to remove her skinny little legs from the seed bowl.

Soon after the shock of finding 3 tiny eggs in the seed bowl I noticed that all was not kosher with my male canary. Not only has he stopped singing, he looked a proper mess.

He has no energy what so ever and he remains sitting in one corner at the bottom of his cage, all puffed and doubled in size.

So off we rush to the petshop in search of answers.

To my surprise the lady at the pet shop said it's a normal procedure for birds to become "overworked" due to their male duties during the mating season.

HUH!!!

That sure was a new one on me!

So we seperated the two love birds, and my beautiful little singer could find a little peace and quiet from the very demanding female.

Two weeks down the line, and the poor guy looks no better, yes he's lost all zest for life.

I've tried all the home remedies in Grandma's good book - to no avail.

In the meantime I'm legging around like Mother hen hoping my bird will snap out of his Zombie state.

When I mentioned my worries and frustrastion to a total stranger today, she told me I should invest in a small bottle of BACHBLÜTEN TROPFEN because he's probably still in shock and the good stuff well do the trick on him.
I can't seem to find the English word for Bachblüten (the dictionary tells me it's Brook blossom drops) but I'm really not sure, all I know is the Bachblüten is a Homeopathic remedy and comes from the Bach flower.

So, if it doesn't kill, it'll cure !!

A film to experience.

2009-06-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

When the day's work is done, I like to sit down, feet up, and watch a good movie. But ever so often I can't find much of interest on any of the 54 Channels on the telly. Lately we've had to put up with repeats - either you watch again, or you don't watch at all.

As I paged through the TV magazine last night, I spotted the movie called PERFUME and said to Mr. CC "Finally something new and different AND it looks promising!"

So at 8.15pm I sat down to watch the film.

I was spellbound from beginning to end and hardly dared to breath or utter a single word during the entire film.

It's the story of a murderer but also of an artist, as a baby, born with an extreme sensitivity to smell.

Strangely enough, this poor lost soul gained all my sympathy, and silently I kept hoping he'd get away and his obsessive deeds (although murderous) were never discovered.

Click on the link for a few snippets of this weird and way out movie, wonderfully played by the young actor called Ben Whishaw.

http://www.perfumemovie.com/ click on the image gallery.

Struwwel-Peter is everywhere

2009-06-01T01:05:00.001-07:00

During our visit to one of the villages in Switzerland and strolling the dog, I came across a Ladies Hairdressing salon called STRUWWELPETER . At the very top of the wall is a large metal figure of the bad boy himself - - Note his unruly hair and long fingernails - - a very appropiate name for a Ladies Hairdresser.

The story of Struwwel-Peter (Shaggy Peter) is just over 150 years old and it was originally written in German and later translated into several languages.

The storybook describes a boy who does not groom himself, by not combing his hair or cutting his nails.

The story of the cruel Frederick - a violent boy who terrorizes animals and people.

The dreadful story of Pauline and the matches - a girl plays with matches and burns to death.

The story of Suck-a-thumb - a boy who continuously sucked his tumb, until a roving tailor comes along and cuts off his tumb with a giant scissors.

The contents and illustrated pictures of this "Educational" book for children is enough to give any small child a night filled with bad dreams instead of sweet dreams !

A man's home is his castle

2009-05-31T13:44:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2009-05-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Big root is watching you

2009-05-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

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....!

2009-05-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

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 !!

2009-05-08T03:48:00.000-07:00

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 !!

Gone with the Wind!

2008-05-09T10:36:00.001-07:00

"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know

when.

But I'm sure we'll meet again some sunny day.

Keep smilling through, just the way you used to do.

Till the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away!"

So until then, keep happy, keep healthy and

keep on blogging!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHcunREYzNY