I Did The Things

Yesterday was a river of activity. 

Tiger Brown and I went to the city in a rainstorm. We were buffeted by the wind, and at time I could not see in front of me. Went to the holiday meeting of the Irish genealogy club, where I may have committed myself to doing research on the Orange Men in our state. Developing.

Then I went to kill time at the blood donation center, but flunked iron, as I often do. This is why I stopped giving blood. You psych yourself up for the donation and then they tell you that your iron is too low. On the way out a lady told me that if you heat your hands first, it makes your finger iron register higher (or somesuch).

This all meant I had 4 hours to kill until my next appointment. I visited two cemeteries. The first one is known to be the posher one of the two, and I looooove how they carve the name of the place into the lawn. I drove around the monuments for a bit:

and had to make myself stop because I sort of knew I was in the wrong spot. I took a deep breath, pulled over, and tried to figure out how to get to the area where my friend's ancestors are buried. 

That took a bit, but my nav told me I had arrived. Then I realized that there were hundreds of grave markers in that area and I couldn't figure out what the direction markers mean.

The direction markers look like this. The cemetery nav said I was at my destination, which was plot 101, fifth row, but the marker looked like this:

and more often than not there were four numbers, two on each side of the line, lined up vertically. Never figured out what that meant, and light was growing dim. I walked around for a bit and then asked a groundskeeper if he could look at the listing on the website and help me find the plot. He said something akin to "No se", and we pretended to understand each other. I thanked him and went back to my car. It was freezing and the wind was blowing like stink. My nose was running and I didn't have a tissue. I was super frustrated but I did not cry and I knew I'd figure it out. There were actually walking directions, it turns out, and I made the blue dot and the red droplet line up and found my target. Whew!

Got back in the car and drove over to the less-stellar cemetery where my granny and grandaddy are laid to rest. Wow. It used to be nice, but now it has a marquee wishing you happy holidays, and light up reindeer on the lawn *and* my rellies' resting place has been remodeled. It used to be pretty:

But instead of the window and lawn that used to be there, they busted through that side of the building and added another wing. My folks used to be in what was a quiet destination but now their location is a dank passageway to that new area. I've been thinking of tucking my mom in with her parents when she dies, but now I think it's not fancy enough for her tastes.

When the man called out "Hello?" and asked me to move along, I did. And I realized I still had an hour and a half until dinner. I drove to the Club and parked (1/2 hour). Did my nails in the car (15 min). Finally it was time for Christmas Dinner at the Club.

Happy Days

There has been brightness this week. Mrguy has been off chemo in preparation for his eye surgery, but then it didn't happen yet and I hope for chemo this week. His mood is brighter, he's been less sleepy and it's been nice to spend time together. He watches baseball and I sit nearby communicating with the world and learning new things as all introverts do, on the computer.

Oh look! What I'm doing now!

We just had visits with that nice boy on Saturday and with Cack and Blick yesterday. It was rejuvenating to just hang out and be normal with old friends. And there were baked goods. That nice boy brought coconut bars (recipe c/o Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk), and C&B brought an entire effing chocolate cake. Mrguy was pro on both accounts! Tomorrow we have a visit from one of our nephews.

In the meantime, there have been other pleasant things. Today we woke up to lots of fog, and the heat has subsided.

We just finished an omelette made with only green eggs. Our friend Junior gives us the ones with funny shapes because she knows we appreciate them:

Yesterday I went to the market and there was much joy. I am filled with love when I see the little touches made by the young ladies who work the cash registers and wear rock tshirts. Clearly they were in charge of the chalk when this sandwichboard was made. I told them I loved it, and they were so happy that at least one person got the Korn reference. Note the potato doorstop in the background, and then the close up in which I bring you a favorite thing -- when the potato doorstop gets super floppy. This potato-as-doorstop is a tradition that predates the young ladies.

Another bright spot in the week was taking Tiger Brown to the drive-thru car wash. When I went with M&R the other week the $7 three color foam car wash had no colors. On the way out I mentioned the lack of colors and suggested to the man operating the car wash might want to check the soap colors in the drive-thru because in the words of M&R I am "a crazy white lady". Guessing they were mortified. 

This week I chatted him up about his day and we talked about how you're not supposed to go through the drivethru if you have certain kinds of roof racks (i.e. don't take your construction truck through the wash -- it tears stuff up). Noted!

On this fine day all 3 colors of foam were represented. Man, I love the car wash and the three color foam. Pretty recent realization. Also this place is super old school and budget. It won't always be there, so I will enjoy it while it is.

Finally, I had a few moments in the garden yesterday and gathered some bits in order to make a flower arrangement. This little cast iron planter is probably my favorite thing from my grandmother's and my mom's house. It's just the right size for putting on the shelf with a bunch of mismatched foliage. Sometimes I don't exactly hit it out of the park with my composition, but whatever. My friend J's lavender helped perk things up and then I went straight for the suburbs with geranium.

There is one day of the weekend left, and I'm glad that it is here. It's going to be a busy week.

Street Corner Vacation

Last night while sweltering and sitting outside, we decided to take a street corner vacation today. About a mile down from our house you can park, and:

Charge your electric car

Check out the progress of the graffiti on a shuttered bar

Drink the yummiest Guatemalan grape soda

Buy that cumin you need at a Tibetan market.

Camellia Show, Feb 2022

Two years ago I went to the local camellia show. This was right before the shutdown that was the starting line of the pandemic in these parts. In a sudden burst of activity I went to the Japanese Internment film festival, ate lunch with a friend from high school, had dinner with miss wartz (which was the inaugural togetherness of our pandemic times, which is now over due to lack of interest on her part, I think) and I went to the camellia show. It was kinda awkward, but interesting, and I looked forward to going to the show again when pandemic times were over.

OK, so they may never be over, but I wrote to the camellia people, confirmed that the show was on for this weekend, and went on over there. It was *exactly* as awkward as last time. I sat on a chair near the far wall, and listened as the guy I'd been emailing with performed a recitation of the national judging guidelines for the other camellia people. I was easily the youngest person there. After hearing about whether or not you could enter sports or not, which seemed to be the end of the recitation, they all broke for donuts and I broke for the camellias. So much beauty in one place!

Before I go on, I would like to say that I have had a conversion about my own camellias. I know I love the camellias from our old house, which were gorgeous beyond belief, but I've also come around to the beauty of our current trees. This is our girl. She has swirly pink petals, and I've come to love her. She has been blooming like crazy this season, which is a first.

She looks a lot like this one on the judging table, labeled as Debutante.

There were many pretty blooms, but I thought this one was pretty spectacular, like a cross between an azalea, rose and peony.

I spoke to one nice lady and asked her the rules for leaves -- do the leaves have to come from the same branch as the blossom, or can you pick the best leaf from your tree to represent you? You can pick your best. And on the way home, a half hour drive, I got to be reminded of why I'm glad I don't live in East County and why I wore a N95 mask, as you do...

"Some say Covid is dangerous. Some say the vaccine is dangerous. That's why medical choice is important." 

Germany 2017 Post 16

Easter was the day we'd been looking for.

We drove back into town. It was cold and ominous. I was hoping for snow but mrguy, who was doing all the driving, was not.

People assemble early for the festivities, and in the hours we waited in the cold across the street from the church the weather changed frequently. I kept trying to cheer up mrguy during the freezing rain, with moderate success.

While the service was happening inside, a man in a floppy hat appeared on the steps of the church and made an announcement. Then church let out, and the priests in beautiful garb holding banners spoke.

Then, the horsemen.

A procession of roughly 50 men wearing tails and top hats slowly rode the block around the church and then up to the church steps. The priests handed off the banners to the lead horsemen, who placed them in holsters somewhere on the bridles of the horses, and then they began singing hymns in Sorbian while circling the church again. This is what we came for. Singing dudes on horses.

The horsemen ride like this to all of the nearby Wendish communities, stopping at each to sing. The horses are watered and rested, the men get a bite to eat, and then they ride on. By around 3pm they return to the original church in Bautzen.

As for us? We were officially done with Easter. We headed home, where our hosts had opened their dining area across the street to locals who wanted an Easter breakfast. It seemed to be mostly them and their friends, with some big sweet dogs joining in to be petted.

Then back to our cozy apartment, where we drank coffee and read the New York Times all day.

We ate the last of the white asparagus for dinner.

Germany 2017 Post 15

Weißenberg is 5km away from Bautzen. Mrguy had found us an apartment on a farm, which was really cozy.

The drive into town took us through other small towns. I think this is Lobau.

Finding a grocery store was a bit of a challenge, and on one evening we even took refuge in the offerings at a gas station grocery where we stepped over one liter of vodka catastrophe and witnessed a second, within a matter of minutes. This proves that a gas station mini mart is the same the world over.

This was one of our successful visits to a store:

One interesting thing we kept seeing in our travels in the East was stores that sell entire kitchens. This makes sense, again, in the former East Germany, where money is finally reaching the farthest parts of the country after almost 30 years of reunification. I can't recall where we heard this, but it was the case in small towns that after reunification the young people left for the promise of the West and some towns were simply abandoned, with home owners locking the doors and walking away. Now I think that people are moving back into these farther regions and rehabbing them.

Back to Bautzen. Many Germans and people of Sorbian ancestry descend on Bautzen for the holiday, and the place is really duded up for the occasion.

On the day before Easter people dressed in Bunny drag and traditional Wendish costume.

We found a bite to eat. This pickled herring sandwich was prettier than it was tasty.

And we drank some local beer, but not this particular one below. There were some Easter-only beers and we concentrated on them:

I forgot to mention our trip to the Bautzen Senfmuseum the day before. Because every town has its own mustard, right? Well Bautz'ner senf is a big deal here. We brought some of the mustard of my people home with us.

On Saturday, we wandered around town and saw this great oompah band.

If you zoom in, you can see that the band's tip jar is an empty tub of Bautz'ner senf. Loved that touch. I shot this image while standing in front of a stencil on the wall that said FCK NZS. 

I had a hot tip from some folks on Facebook that there would be a special musical presentation at the Sorbian museum later that day, so we wandered around to some of the local sights beforehand. The Bautzen Museum had some great crafts, excellent disaster paintings and an amputation painting. What's not to like?

Then we walked over to the Sorbisches Museum. Pretty walk.

Over there, we bought some Easter eggs, hand-painted with wax by men and women wearing traditional clothing. The eggs were incredibly beautiful, and the process really interesting. I came home with a goose quill (the traditional daubing implement) and some colored wax.

The musical presentation was like a lot of folk music. The Wendish bagpipe has a horn like a saxophone and the bellows is the skin of an entire sheep, which looks like the skin of an entire sheep, minus the ankles and feet.

Then off to the Monchshof, lured as we were by their goofy website and menu. As before, we got there and it wasn't so goofy. I tried aronia berry juice. Quite. Tart.

The ride home to the farm was beyond gorgeous. For a few days I'd been trying to get a good photo of the balls of mistletoe in the otherwise bare trees, but didn't quite have it until the sunset provided a good backdrop.

 

I'll take it.

Germany 2017 Post 14

We were staying in Weißenberg, but our intended destination was Bautzen. Our travel to Bautzen was timed so that we could see the many cultural traditions practiced by the Sorbian people at Easter. They are the smallest Slavic minority and have two UNESCO-listed languages that have about 4,000 speakers apiece. One branch of my own German family is Sorbian. That first immigrant ancestor with the unusual name? Turns out he was Sorbian. If you see a last name with 5 consonants in a row, it might be Sorbian. Fun! You can read more about the Sorbs / Wends on Wikipedia.

We were going to Bautzen anyway, but it doesn't hurt that it's so beautiful. It is a jewel of a town that sits on a river in the middle of farmland.

It also sports some timely graffiti, "Nazis Raus!!" which I much appreciated in the era of Trump.

Town square:

The postcard view from the bridge:

Town square, different view, different lighting:

Not sure what happened here, but it cracked me up:

And this. Bautzen was a place where my expectations were often surpassed. I booked us dinner at Wjelbik, because all of the travel sites said that this was the place to go for Wendish food. Where I expected something slightly kitchy (based on their 2016 website), instead we found the intersection of Wendish flavors, local ingredients and great service. These folks are not playing. Here is the mustard soup, served with a lacy toast wafer and hidden poached egg. So yummy. I took very few pictures because this was a fine dining establishment, we were the only foreigners, and I didn't want to offend anyone. But come on. Mustard soup. Never heard of it. Had to have a photo.

Germany 2017 Post 2

Day 2 was the day of many museums. Museum Angewandte Kunst is filled with beautiful stuff. “Elementary Parts: From the Collections” is an exhibition that juxtaposes 75 items from different parts of the collection -- modern, ancient, in-between. I was so into some of it, and beguiled by the names of some of the items and scribbled furiously in my notebook. Reviewing it 7 months later is only marginally helpful in reminding me what some things were. I wrote down "black kitchen mistress", and can't recall why. I think it's the name of a beautiful knife. I'd written it down in my notebook in order to look up later which, as I learned today, is maybe not a good thing to do. I didn't click on any of the links. Neither should you. Do, however, look up the jewellery of Friedrich Becker. Just gorgeous.

We were about to leave the museum when one of the attendants sternly asked for our attention. Gulp. Turns out that she just wanted to make sure that we left via the exit that would take us to the other half of the museum, in which rooms were themed by applied arts of different eras. I really got into this -- crazy wallpaper murals and pretty things. mrguy? Not so much. But we agreed on this chair:

The Städel Museum had something for all of God's creatures. Lots and lots of Medieval stuff for me and lots of modern and contemporary for both of us.

 

 I loved how this guy looked at me:

And this set of paintings was really crazy:

 

There was an amazing little exhibit that showed the backs of paintings. That's my idea of a good time.

Pretty fancy for the back of a painting, right?

Jet lag sank in and we drank many Cokes in order to forge on. In Frankfurt there seems to be a strong presence of Fritz Cola, instead, so I wondered if this was a revolutionary act. Don't care.

There was more art to be seen:

The black one, above, was just killing me. It was executed in paint stick and had mad texture. So gorgeous. On another side of this room I was distracted by this annoying sound while I was examining a piece by Anselm Kiefer. Man, that sound was annoying. Really annoying. Oh. That was *my* bad. The annoying American set off the annoying alarm.

After the museums it was still rather early and we were trying to stay awake until a reasonable hour, so we did some more shopping. People were starting to appear on the streets in their team colors. We spied this poster for mispelch, so we went into the shop to buy some, and some apfelwein. The shop owner asked us if we were football fans. And then we tweaked to the idea that soccer hooligans drink apfelwein and mispelch. Oh well.

 

On the way back to the hotel we found a tiny used record store. Smelled great but didn't buy anything. Passed by a store that made clothing with reproduction fabric designs by Sonia Delaunay:

And clearly we are in the run-up to Easter:

All of this was on our walk over to Zum Gemalten Haus, where I took the obligatory apple doorknob photo. Our stern waiter from last time continues to ply his trade there. In my opinion he's the Sam Wo of Frankfurt.

We ordered more grünsoße and confirmed our earlier opinion that we don't need to order any more of it. And that's ok! We enjoyed the atmosphere, the somewhat risque paintings on the ceiling, and a conversation with some young folks who joined our table.