It's Saturday 31st..

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”

Good Morning... Sat 31st, 6.40, 11.0dg... the end of August, the countdown timer will be on soon. Yesterday was another lovely day as long as you had the sun on your skin, in the shade it is now a bit goosebumpy, but still managing summer dresses... trousers are a winter thing for me. How luxurious it is to lie on the sun lounger after lunch and do marking and lesson prep.. have to make the most of the waning summer. The entire day was spent with tuition so today I am going to please myself. Cannot play 9 holes as the Club Champs are on course but will go to the driving range after 10 to hit some balls... all the players will have done warm up by then and have left for the course. Purchased a set of luggage scales yesterday through Amazon.de... think that they are going to be a necessary part of my pack and travel. Horror of horrors, I think I am going to have to start lighting a fire in the evenings, either that or turn on the central heating. The wood is cheaper than the oil, but am loathe to take wood from my hard worked pile... Saddo.  Paulii always said minimum comfort temp inside should be 21dg and the house is now struggling to maintain even that. All the winter fashion is arriving in the shops... terribly tempting but am trying to be sensible... really. Lots of forest and mossy greens... not me, so that is an easy swerve, and in all reality I am out of wardrobe room, even with the entire dressing room now for me !!! Happy Saturday what ever, where ever... 

Noch nichts vor am Wochenende? Bei den heimischen Tänzen der Trachtengruppe Partenen wird's am Sonntag im Kapellrestaurant ab 11:30 Uhr spektakulär. Beim Sonntagsbrunch wird zusätzlich noch der Gaumen verwöhnt. Nicht zu vergessen die Schuhplattler, die mit ihrer Vorführung für Spaß und Unterhaltung sorgen.

Sugary sparkles...

T.G.I.F.

“What day is it?", asked Winnie the Pooh
"It's today," squeaked Piglet
"My favourite day," said Pooh” 

Good Morning...Fri 30th, 5.58, 10.6dg dark out but clear... I can see a light twinkling in the Wörmser Hutte up on the skyline of the Hoch Joch. Yesterday dawned a bright late summer day and it was lovely to feel the sun on my back. Played 9 holes of "not bad" golf late morning with friends and then the obligatory liquid refreshment in the club house. The afternoon was spent with a senior school student who has a re-sit exam first day back at school on 9th. Teacher failed her because she muddled her tenses in her oral exam and sentence order was not always correct.. Well I suppose if you are studying and sitting exams then you must be correct. This morning I have my life experience girls for some laughs and then back into the more serious stuff of MacBeth this afternoon. La la la. The ladies club captain asked me to play in the Club Champs yesterday and I nearly fell off my chair laughing.. don't think she really understood my mirth. Needless to say I am not entering, it is Saturday Sunday 36 holes. BUT, have decided to bite the bullet and do a Damen Tournier Monday week.. watch this space!! Life is too short for regrets.

Wednesday night tournier...

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Good Morning World... Thurs 29th, 6.11, 9.6dg, 17.6ml rain. It has been a cool rainy couple of days, but the weather man has said it will be summery over the weekend. I look forward to that. The entire morning yesterday was spent in the hairdressers chair, but not wasted as I am stitching madly trying to finish some smocked dresses for my Poppet. I have three on the go but really only a little pink one to finish for this summer season for her. The others are for when she is a bit bigger. Yesterday afternoon was spent on the driving range in preparation for the tournament starting at 5pm. Played in a three, two men and myself, and by the time we got onto the 8th Tee we were all saying thank goodness there are only two holes left to play then we can go into the club house for some commiserating drinks... mistakes were plenty by all of us.. like plenty !!! I did not bash a club on the ground like one of my fellow players, but did say "scheisse" a bit. Golf is such a variable game you have to have a giggle  . Today I am going out to play an early nine holes, quietly on my own, just to sort out some wrinkles, then into the garden. A little sun on my back would be nice. Enjoy

Smiling Snowman Cake

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups vanilla frosting
Shredded coconut (optional)
2 black licorice drops
1 large orange gumdrop
Red shoestring licorice
Red fruit leather
3 starlight mints
3 small gumdrops
2 sticks chocolate licorice

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two ovenproof glass bowls, one slightly larger than the other. (Note: For our cake, we used one bowl with a 1-liter capacity and 6-inch diameter and the other with a 1 1/2-liter capacity and 7-inch diameter.)

2. To make the cake, mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Sift the ingredients onto waxed paper and return to the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, blend the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.

4. Alternately, add the flour mixture and the milk to the batter in thirds, combining well after each addition. Fill the bowls about two thirds full. Bake the smaller cake for about 50 minutes and the larger cake for about 65 minutes.

5. When done, the surface will spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. Cool in the bowls for 10 minutes. Then invert onto a large, rectangular platter (about 17 by 12 inches) so the cakes resemble a snowman. Cool completely.

6. Ice the cakes with the vanilla frosting, then sprinkle with shredded coconut, if desired. Add licorice drop eyes, insert an orange gumdrop nose and fashion a broad smile with shoestring licorice.

7. For the scarf, cut two 2-inch-wide strips of fruit leather, notch the ends and wrap around the neck of the snowman. For the buttons, use starlight mints topped with gumdrops. Finish off the snowman with two chocolate licorice arms. Serves 10 to 12.


8. Kids’ Steps: Measuring and adding the ingredients for the cake batter, and frosting and decorating the cute snowman.

Wisdom....

Disappointment is the nurse of wisdom.

Good Morning World... Wed 28th, 5.32, 12.7dg, 17ml rain. It is too dark out to see the sky but the roads are damp and there is a low mountain mist.. I am hoping for a drier day than yesterday, the weather is supposed to be on the improve. Yesterday was spent putting the house back to rights after the departure of the guests. Too wet to walk to the recycler, well, more like I couldn't be bothered, there is always Thursday. Spent the late afternoon with a friend helping her come to grips with her MacBook.. it is always nice to share a little of what you have learnt, even if it was learnt by accident, default and necessity!! Computers, they are one of the things I could cheerfully biff something at at times but then I don't as could not do without it !! Hairdresser today and providing I am out of the chair in time I have my name down for the Wednesday tournament. If it is raining then I am inclined not to want to play... Ohhh and won't Simon be grumpy with me. Disappointment is most certainly the nurse of wisdom... one day hopefully I will not find disappointment so hard to manage. Wisdom also comes with age... so they say. Happy days.

Inspection time !!

“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.”

Good Morning World... Tues 27th, 7.26, 12.5dg, 7.1ml rain. A new day but the same weather pattern, sky overcast and temps not very exciting, and me very firmly stuck in bed wearing a lazy bones hat. Yesterday was a long day, but it is always nice to do good things for others. Today my guests leave and the house can be reassembled ... Would I do it again, yes, as there is nowhere here in the village that can cater for the problem that one of my guests has. Is it inconvenient, a little, but being able to make someone smile makes me smile. I am really and honestly going to try to get into the garden today, I have been saying so for over a week, but I am struggling with side tracking !!! Really need to convince myself to start and finish one job before the next one catches my eye. Yesterday afternoon was being entertained on the pavement by my elderly, across the road, retired Police Commandant neighbour, yip him !! when one of his Police colleagues drove up in the local police van. After introductions, Polizei Martin congratulated me on finishing my wood and asked if he could look at the stack... Impressed he was, then as the garage door was open because I was working on some electrical problem, he and Emil came in and compared notes on the machinery I used to cut and split wood., he had noticed the drop saw and chainsaw and chain grinder.. New Zealand girls can do almost anything, we are raised that way, and here is Austria it is not the norm for a girl to be so " handy"... Interestingly is the knowledge he had on all that I had done over the summer months with wood, hedges and now the end piece of land. Eyes are everywhere. Golf training tonight, I will be prepared and on time and hopefully no yawning !! Bless those that watch over me... 

#sleepless...

“But Pooh couldn't sleep. The more he tried to sleep the more he couldn't. He tried counting Sheep, which is sometimes a good way of getting to sleep, and, as that was no good, he tried counting Heffalumps. And that was worse. Because every Heffalump that he counted was making straight for a pot of Pooh's honey, and eating it all. For some minutes he lay there miserably, but when the five hundred and eighty-seventh Heffalump was licking its jaws, and saying to itself, "Very good honey this, I don't know when I've tasted better," Pooh could bear it no longer.”

Good Afternoon..  I was Pooh last night.. early to bed I said to myself with a 4am alarm.. could I sleep? could I what... gave up and feet on floor at 3am for an early coffee!! Quick skype with my Poppet and Daughter.. Poppet had a climbing fall and we think this may have taught her a valuable lesson... all 9 months of her... Bless. Back safely from the trip to Zurich Flughafen, precious parcels collected and deposited safely, also news about the tiff the bumper had with the corner of the garage delivered... Ohhhh tummy in full butterfly mode. Hugs all round. Left in the rain, came back at middle day to high overcast and very ordinary sort of day.. temp out is a measly 17.8dg.. a bit of a shock for my little globe trotters. Supply of Gin in house so la la la. Plans for today... Nicht!! Nada!! Nothing!! Request from a language school in Feldkirk for English tuition for three adult students... I am in New Zealand for most of the dates... C'est La Vie. My little corner of the world is just tickety boo...

These are cutie bums.... for all you mad women who are already doing your countdown !!!

Christmas Brownie Bites
Yields 12-16 brownies

Ingredients:
1 pan of your favorite brownies, cooled and cut into desired size and shape (I used a round cutter) you can use brownie mix with or without nuts... with nuts it is harder to cut...
12-16 small strawberries, cleaned and hulled
vanilla-mascarpone butter cream (recipe below) or I have used cream cheese in place of Mascarpone cheese. Easier and faster just as good

Mascarpone Buttercream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces mascarpone cheese or Cream cheese , room temperature
2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Method:
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and mascarpone cheese until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt. Add 2-1/2 cups of sugar, half a cup at a time and continue beating until smooth. Add more sugar, if needed to reach desired consistency and sweetness.

To assemble, pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream on top of each brownie. Cut off the base of a strawberry so it is flat and place it upside down on each brownie, pushing slightly to secure in place. Top the tip of the strawberry with a dot of buttercream to finish the Santa hat.

Sunday.. a day of rest for some!!

“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.”

Good Morning World... Sun 25th, 7.07, 13.1dg, 22,2ml rain... it is positively persisting and has been for most of the night. Yesterday the morning dawned lovely, warm and sunny and deteriorated through the day. My luncheon was cut short after the first course, as family needed one of my guests... so we are doing it all again today.. Heavens I am such an easy going soul.... as for my house guests... they arrived yesterday evening complete with wheelchair which neither my neighbour or I realised that she now needs it 100% of the time... you should have seen the shenanigans trying to quickly readjust the house so she could wheel down hallways to get to and from the stairlift.. Worse part was her own wheelchair does not collapse in the middle so we could not et it upstairs for her to use and I had sold Paulii's light weight collapsible one two weeks ago.. the things you do !!! all furniture has been removed and her friend is sleeping upstairs in order to help her with her ablutions... Ohhhh. .. big ask for all of us, I just hope the bed is OK and that all goes well. They are with me until Tuesday. Off to collect the Touareg this morning ready for a 5am departure tomorrow to get to Zurich Flughafen for 8am. Yip... will be chasing my tail for the next couple of days... why do I say I will do all these things ???
All Blacks kept the Bledisloe Cup... Yes boys a good game... Hamilton on pole in Spa... will they have rain there today, I think so and so it will anyone's race. Will be a good watch. Happy Sunday.. enjoy

Happy Days...

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”

Good Morning World... Sat 24th, 5.46, 15.1dg. I knew I would feel furry around the edges this morning... but the reason for the celebration was definitely worth feeling furry for. Yesterday there was not a lot of achieving done in this house after the conversation group left, other than pleasing myself. I did pick some of my favourite roses for the vase in the spare bedroom.. guest in today. Today I am having friends over to have a celebratory luncheon... Starting with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil, then sliced pork fillet seared in fennel seeds and served with feldsalat. Finishing with poached pears and strained greek yoghurt. Served with the obligatory NZ Sauvignon Blanc. The village was at a standstill for several hours yesterday morning with the funeral of a well known gentleman, it is not often you see so many suits in town !! As he was of German birth, there was a lot of traditional dress also, quite a spectacle. Yesterday afternoon was the start of MITTELALTERSPEKTAKEL MONTAFON... hope it stays dry for them, it is a big gathering of all things Medieval. Happy weekend .

Birthday day...

“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

Good Morning World ... Fri 23rd, 6.03, 13.0dg. A happy celebration to my daughter  .. 32 years today.  Yesterday was another summer stunner. and the dust coming off my heels was unbelievable. Talk about achieving Trev.. I had a super hour and a bit on the driving range and then into it. Dachboden complete and waiting, spare bedroom top to bottom gleaming ready for my guest tomorrow. Carpets on all levels vacuumed and wooden floors wet mopped. Heavens am feeling tired just thinking about it. Today I have my experienced ladies for an hour of conversation, and then garden work. We have some rain in the forecast on and off in the coming days so every sunny day is a need to be busy day. Looking to have a little wooden sign made for my front garden, just need to find the right person who does this, and waiting for the quote for the garage roof extension so my firewood is snug over the winter. Waiting tests one's patience.. my life seems to be full of waiting these days. I have had 982 page views on my Vespa advertisement in three weeks.. someone must come out of the woodwork and want to buy it .. surely ? The same can be said for all of Paulii's equipment, the big items have had high page views. Law of averages must mean a buyer, somewhere, soon please. "Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, seldom found in woman, never found in man "... Opps

In our back yard, just down the road and around the corner... some of the older locals are not happy about either the build project or the concept of it.. Me... I think anything that promotes a beautiful mountain region has to be a good idea.

Thursday 22nd August. ❤

“How do you spell 'love'?" - Piglet
"You don't spell it...you feel it." - Pooh”

Good Morning World... Thurs 22nd, 6.34, 10.7dg. Today I am going to celebrate today in the way we always did it... but I will pick the flower from the garden instead. It will be a red rose with the little forget-me-nots....  Yesterday was a day spent running up and down stairwells.. great for the fitness. As the weather was so beautiful decided to wash all the feather and down duvets and pillows.. job done and all beautifully dry and smelling wonderful. Put the Dachboden back to rights and then onto the outside bits. Went up to feed the pussycat yesterday and she was most grumpy with me... think she is tired of not having her family around, so she snuck into the house as I was getting her food ready... naughty Mia, it was hide and sneak for a little while!! An couple of hours down at the driving range late yesterday just reinforcing Tuesday's training.. used two strips of velcro to attach my club selection to the bike, the idea was marvellous in theory, but a little challenging getting on and off... especially if it had to be done in a hurry as I secured them from the front upright bar through to the seat pole. A small adjustment required for safety .. Today finishing touches to some inside work... another guest arriving Saturday, this one requiring Paulii's stairlift to get to the bedroom. Weather continues to be beautiful, very cool in the mornings early, and the acers are all changing... Happy Thursday.

Autumn is approaching

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Good Morning World... Wed 21st, 7.16, 9.6dg. It is so cool out this morning .. and... the trees are putting on their Autumn coats, we have colour change happening. It seems that the summer has gone so quickly or is that how it seems as you grow in life experience??? Dipping our toes into the real estate pond in NZ is an interesting way to while away some time... it seems to be a tough market when you are on a strict budget, as we found today, first offer not high enough so back to the drawing board. We decided that it was obviously not the perfect place ... I am a believer that if it is meant to be so it will be. Yesterday was a strip down, polish, scrub, wash, iron and remake day. The joys of being a guest house provider. Golf training last night was good... carried three clubs in my hand on the bicycle as we had been told the previous week we were doing putting practise.. arrived late and it was not putting practise at all. Good start... Simon lent me a 7 iron and so minus a glove off we went, all about position, hips, bum knees and hands. No Wednesday Tournier tonight... smiling, but have put my name down for next week. Today is just a tidy up inside and out day ... it really is Autumn.

Tuesday, wet and cool..

“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

Good Morning World... Tues 20th, 7.28, 13.3 dg, 12.2 ml rain. Yesterday we had a wet wet day on and off and last night it persisted, but much needed rain means a happy garden. My afternoon was spent dismantling one of my Nespresso machines... Nespresso tell me as the machine is not functioning and is older than 5 years they will not fix it, after a discussion with them about the sadness of that decision I took it out to the garage and dismantled it to see if I could see where the blockage is... when I put it down in the cellar to store it was functioning, so it has to be calk.. long story short, it will not pump the water through, even after all my ministrations, so today I will take it up to the dump.. Point taken Nespresso, but I will not replace it with another one of yours as I am cross with you.
Today my English family leave for the next leg of their summer holiday exploration, hopefully leaving Schruns with some happy memories, even if the hiking experience was a bit " over the top". Men!! Golf training tonight, but only if the weather improves... am not going on my bike in the rain, no. Happy Tuesday.. The birds are obviously to wet to sing their songs today.

New week.

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.”

Good Morning World... Mon 19th, 7.17, 17.2 dg, 1.8 ml rain overnight. This morning we have patchy sky and it looks like it is going to be one of those can't make up its mind sort of days. It is warm and that is all that matters. My guests returned last evening after a full day hiking the old smugglers trails up and over the border and back into Austria.. left at 7.15am and returned 7pm.. I suggested there may be a small case of grumbles.. he said the children were OK but yes, his wife had decided four hours into the hike it was not very jolly funny !!! Oppps. I poured her a gin, they went out for dinner and on their return she sat in the infra red cabin to help her immobile leg muscles. I believe today is a day being spent doing not a lot on flat ground here in Schruns, and down at the Schwimmbad, otherwise I fear I may have a revolt on my hands. Me, well just a day of low key things to do, couldn't play the 9 holes yesterday was just too tired, just an hour on the driving range then home to lie still in the sun. Bliss. I will play in the garden later to keep on track with the check list for October. Happy Monday.

Day of rest..

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Good Morning World... Sun 18th, 6.20, 15.4dg. Yesterday dawned warm but overcast and then dropped a few sprinkles briefly. Cleared to a day that could be spent on the sun lounger reading...  Glorious.... I did actually do a little of something and that was dead head all my terrasse lavendars and that takes a while as these I do each stem individually rather than a grab and shear, but with music on the cd palyer and a nice chilly by my chair and the perfume from the flower heads it was a lovely way to dead head!! My guests were away walking up on the Golm yesterday and today are doing one of the guided walks up into Gargellen.. the Smugglers Trail, following the route the smugglers took, crossing over the border into Switzerland. They say a 6-7 hour hike, the sun is shining, I have packed them a picnic so they are good to go. Me today, well just pleasing myself. Off to the driving range for a bit of a muscle stretcher and the 9 holes. Then home for a little of something in order to become a lounge lizard!! My neighbour and his worker toiled like little beavers yesterday with tractors, spades and crow bars, removing the hedges and replanting for me... someone doing the work for me for a change...Bliss

L

Saturday... finished!!

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Good Morning World...Sat 17th, 6.57, 16.2dg. High cloud out this morning, but I think it will clear away to a stunner. They say today and tomorrow 29dg. My family of four from England arrived safely on the 10pm train last night.. it is strange to have people moving around upstairs, will I ever get used to it ??? Breakfast box prepared and at the bottom of the stairwell so now it is a me day. Sit down and be prepared to applaud... the wood saga is finally over... I am finished. There were times I thought I would never see the end of this wretched job, but game over, and two pairs of gloves in the bin.. Perfect. Jobs to do before October... clip all topiaries and buxus, and then tie the garden in preparation for winter. The pressure is now off big time, so I can concentrate on some golf ..practice and play, and enjoy the late summer here. I am blessed. Happy weekend.

TGIF

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you.”

Good Morning World...Fri 16th, 7.23, 12.0dg. How simple the world was for Piglet, Pooh, Eeyore, Roo and Tigger. Bad earthquake in NZ, Hunterville being not so far as the crow flies, from Taihape... Taihape is where my daughter and my Poppet are... Mel says it is horrid and the constant aftershocks are scary. Thankfully apart from property damage in various places lives are safe. Yesterday I said I was going to finish the wood pile... on reflection after speaking with one of my neighbours I decided it was in my best interests not to work on a religious observance day so cleaned the house, lay in the sun and was generally a quiet mouse. But, today after my conversation group has left it is very definitely Stand Clear of Moving Parts. This job will be completed today.
Guests arrive on the 10pm train this evening so a late night, hopefully all will run smoothly and as the weather is fine the walk from the station will be OK . All in all very orderly and quietly excited... and I had a tiny little windfall via an email that has restored some of my faith. Smiling.

Nearly there... Thursday

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

Good Morning.. gosh it is late!!! Thurs 15th, 8.47, 16.0dg and sun is streaming in the bedroom window... still in bed  I seem to have been on Skype for hours, but there is no rush to get up.Today is a public holiday .. Mariä Himmelfahrt, so really I am not supposed to be rowdy outside, but I think blow that I am on the last piece of the wood pile and today it will be finished. I will be a good rabbit and wait until after lunch perhaps, and then the saw will be working. Yesterday was a day spent cutting, splitting, stacking and dismantling.. work in progress with my neighbours as they prepare the end of my land to turn it into extra park platz for their guests. Golf tournier last night was so much laughter I thin some of the other groups playing around us wondered... I made TWO PARS !!!!!! Pat on back Moochie. In amongst all of that I had some incredible shots some of which resulted in balls lost out of bounds... one day, one day. Will I go back for next Wednesday, yes I will. Four paying guests arrive from England tomorrow staying with me for four nights, so final touches being put in place today. All in all with the sun shining and the church bells ringing it is good... Question.. will the gloves last the job? This is the second pair.....Enjoy

Like

Smiley day today..

Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button.

Good Morning World... Wed 14th, 7.47, 14.1dg, 5.5 rain. Smiley garden, especially as I put down a little fertilizer a couple of days ago. Yesterday been and gone.. smiley girl.. Small tasks ticked off.. AND success from the first of my advertisements, the manual wheelchair sold, collected and paid.. Smiley, smiley. One down five to go. My next door neighbour, the one that really really loves me, has started removing the trees and the hedge in preparation to turn my bottom lawn into extra park places for his Ferienwhonung.. Halo up again!! Am off to try and put the full stop in the wood saga.. contacted my friendly builder with a view to putting a cheap extension onto the back side of the garage roof to store all the extra under cover without the wood taking garage room as it has always done. Golf training was a challenge last night.. tired and stiff body, Ohhh tournament tonight. EKKKK!! Little acorns being planted in New Zealand, smiley people everywhere.  😊

Tuesday..

Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.

Good Morning World... Tues 13th, 5.44, 16.6dg 1.4rain. Yesterday dawned a fine and hot day.. but on arriving out behind the garage my desire to get on with my wood pile turned to tears of utter frustration as the street corner of the wood pile had collapsed onto the ground... too much road vibration I think... so in my rage I threw the whole pile down and started again.. not before my temper had vented itself on my poor little broom which is now in two pieces... Naughty!! Re stacked using the two iron wood holders taken out of the back of the garage, back on track, the whole winter wood process should be finished by the end of the week... please. Lawn mown, edges trimmed, garden weeded. Rain over night and a showery day forecast. All electrical plugs now legal and safe... no more NZ conversions all into Austrian plugs. Angel with halo. Golf training tonight... my name is back on the board for the Wednesday tournament!! Progress?? Hope so. Plenty of gin and then delicious tapas for supper... cos lettuce leaves to hold smoked salmon, and then leaf cups for curried egg, yummy and well deserved.   Off to sing in the rain....

New week...

“He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.”

Good Morning World... Mon 12th, 6.32, 13.7dg. Daylight shows a dull morning, forecasters say rain by Thursday. Yesterday I had a little devil on my left shoulder, he kept telling me to go out and trim the big topairy with my little electric hand shears, the little conscience that sits on my right side won over, so, yesterday after a couple of hours at the driving range in the sun, I came home, grilled a steak, tossed a salad, poured a wine and then put on my electricians hat. My lovely Paulii.. Off to buy more Austrian plugs today have decided to change all the plugs so there will be no need for NZ to Austrian boards and cords. Halo up and very bright at the moment !! No golf, just got to get these things completed.  Paying guests from England into the house on 16th. Need to build a new wood stand out the side of the house and as it is a week day I can make noise to me little heart's content. My wood piles are growing.

Angel of the week....Morning Poppet

A day of rest...

Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Good Morning World...Sun 11th, 5,58, 14dg. Opps, just reset my weather station and the screen is blank... could be an appropriate moment for the instruction manual. Yesterday was a chilly start.. cycling to the driving range I had to wear a fluffy at 7.45am... autumn is coming. Spent a worthy 2 hours hitting balls yesterday on the range.. had some good conversations with myself about how pleasing most of it was!! Mad ? no not really, just feeling better about the club, ball, distance connection... thank God!! As it was Saturday I came home and did some slice, split and stack until midday, I then stopped as decreed by the Gemeinde, and the bloody neighbour one over was still cutting his hedge at 7pm !!!! I suppose rules are made to be broken by some... me I am to scared to break anything these days. I was improving my vitamin D levels for the afternoon and doing some serious Kindle appreciation on the lounger outside with the noise of the hedge cutter running on and on and on... Back off to the driving range this morning as it is a Sunday and a total day of rest... then as in will be in rest mode back on the lounger under the umbrella.. La la la

" T " for ....

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”

Good Morning World...Sat 10th, 6.28, 11.6dg 1.1 rain. The air this morning feels very autumnal, I have even shut the verandah doors in my bedroom... Hopefully the weather allows me to get outside and do some things today... Rain has been fantastic for the garden. Saturday, so the command is no noisy work in the afternoons, they can be such spoilsports here!! Time to go to the driving range and hit some balls and then a couple of hours of slice, split and stack. My conversation group yesterday was hilarious.. thank goodness the weather was cool and we were inside.. one of the women asked me if the neighbour was home and could they hear us. Practising v's, w's and wh's for german speakers is a challenge.. next week I am going to record them, against me, then play back... should be interesting. They have a week to practise!! This week's mischievous rabbit....Happy weekend all round.

" T "

TGIF

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.” 

Good Morning World... Fri 9th, 6.52, 17.8dg, 3.0. Cooler day yesterday, no need for any help from the shade. On and off rain but only light, it is nice to see a little variation. Today they say more of the same...tomorrow back to summer. Spent a frustrating afternoon checking all the plugs, power boards and extension cords that were created NZ to Austrian by he who shall remain nameless. The earth wire was cut off in all but one, so obviously they will all be the same, so hopefully finish checking and rewiring the dachboden today then down to the next level, and so on. Bless. Entertained last night, lovely evening, good company, herb stuffed pork fillet with squashed potato and stir fry chinese cabbage, kummel and bacon. We drank a divine red, Batonnage 2010. Even he would have been impressed as it is an Austrian red!! This morning my experienced life girls come for conversation.. task today is to improve the sound of V, W and WH.. you may hear us laughing...

Bregenzer Festspiele 2013

Thursday

A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

Good Morning World... Thurs 8th, 6.21, 18.3dg, 0.4 rain. See the gauge is working.. spider removed and all the associated gunk that he created washed away, just in time for the weather collapse as they say today tomorrow rain, hail, thunder, lightning. The garden needs it... I need it, as it means inside jobs will be tackled. Yesterday was a day spent away in Bregenz with a friend. A little retail therapy... well summer sales are on.. did I need it? Not really the point, is it fab ?...  Conscience salved by coming home and doing three hours carting and stacking wood , all the cut is now off the ground so from here on in I can cut and biff into the wheelbarrow ready to cart. Progress. The stack on the back garage wall is as high as I think is safe so now am behind the house filling the frame there. Halo Moment !!! Really would like to get on the driving range for an hour this morning, but the roads are wet so am waiting... The photo was taken yesterday as we walked the promenade and this is stage set for one of the shows in the Bregenzer Festspiele 2013

Tuesday

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”

Good Morning World... Wed 7th, 5.45, 19.5dg, slightly damp. Happy happy 9th month celebration to my little Poppet... Yesterday was a very productive day.. the outside wood stack has climbed the wall of the garage.. very pleasing !! And a small amount of cutting until the midday shut down. Too hot after lunch to do overly much, just a bit more stacking. Consultation with my insurer has eased my mind... somewhat, and he has also put me in touch with a possible Vespa purchaser.. Patience, I have it in abundance. Car returned and pussy cat fed, long walk home in the heat... why do people stare at you when you walk in the heat with your umbrella up??? It makes sense to keep the sun off your head and face surely. Golf training last night was an unqualified success...Has my MoJo come back, yes.. hopefully not just for a fleeting visit, so I am going back to play tournaments... One happy Pro hopefully one happy Moochie.