A New Year, A New Beginning.

Oh what a wonderful time of the year.

We all grumble about time passing but then again, passing of time gives us chances of new beginnings. Be they in location, vocation or thought. They choice is ours and the prime time for it has been designated as New Year's Eve.

Some make lists and some make promises of what they want to achieve in the next few days, weeks or months. Perhaps in the same manner as a computer has a refresher button, so we have a reset on New Year's. A chance to reflect and change our vantage point of thought. So often we look at our lives with our subjective filter and miss the treasure that we are, have and are allowed to be.

Excelling at things isn't the aim of life-for those that do, fair enough-but isn't the point of life a feeling of happiness and contentment with what we have? Those feelings are the most elusive of all as we are constantly bombarded with ideas, images and suggestions of doing, looking and living better.

This New Year's Eve we should practice being happy with what we have, who we are and who we have in our life. Once we focus and treasure those things we already have we will feel more content and happy. Which is the point after all, isn't it? So let's refresh our life and look at what we have from a new perspective.

A Happy New Year to all.

Biggi

A Mad-dening Dash Into Oberwart.

We should have known better...

As one lot of friends are winging their way back to England another lot are arriving late afternoon. Their first time with us and in Burgenland and hopefully not their last. That's the thing about Burgenland; either you love it or hate it.

Our area's quaintness is inadvertently linked to a dearth of entertainment domiciles. A few Restaurants dotted within a 20 km radius, plenty of Buschenschanks and spas. Normally one can find plenty of places to eat but when New Year's Eve is on the cards, many are closed and the rest fully booked. So, a bit of a conundrum for us although by pure luck we managed to garner a big table at a nice Buschenschank for the first part of New Year's.

Afterwards we ( a hefty nine of us ) will gather at our place to see in 2020. That was the reason Bob and I braved Oberwart this morning. We needed odds and ends to make sure none of us starve while awaiting midnight. I of course will double up on coffee lest I fall asleep on the couch.

Everyone under the ice cold sun was heading toward Oberwart today. Despite Christmas being only a few days old many a cross face was seen behind the steering wheel of a car. Parking at a premium, third gear out of the question as traffic was bumper to bumper and with that being said, you can well imagine what the inside of a Supermarket was like. Ghastly and if I hadn't been part of the shopping madness myself I would quite happily call out the stupidity of shopping on a day like today...surely one can plan ahead?

Again most folks were shopping as if the shops would be closed well into 2020. Aren't we all delightfully the same in thinking that we never have enough food around us? They should create a TV show called; " Creating delicious meals out of what's left in your larder. ". I know I would watch!

At least the traders of Oberwart can rub their hands in glee at the thought of counting all those euros that surely must have gone into their tills today...

Biggi

The Winds Of Change.

No more predictions...

Of course the warm climes of a few weeks ago have led me along into the belief that the icy cold of winter was a thing of the past. Who could have foreseen those tricky cold winds that have arrived with a vengeance and from all sides too. Yes, it is cold again.

Funny how a mere breeze can make most of us feel uncomfortably cold. Even the men standing outside for their quick puff of smoke kept hopping about from one foot to the other. In vain. Icy cold.

Talking of smoking outside, it is fabulous on the one hand having a smoke free restaurant or Buschenschank, but on the other hand, a new social group is forming. One that we non-smokers cannot be a part of. This afternoon while we were at a local Buschenschank, I could see some new friendships forming. Smokers do come in all shapes and sizes and around the ashtray none of that matters...he who has a lighter is the darling of the group!

Yesterday we even had a flurry of snowflakes twisting outrageously between the varying gusts of wind. Charming to behold through the window of a warm lounge but not charming enough to venture outside in order to say that one has played in the snow. Never mind that when the sun beckoned forth after lunch most of the snow hastily shifted back into liquid form. Honestly, the indecisiveness of winter...

Despite grumbling about the bitingly cold wind and weather, I am secretly rather pleased because as they say; ' a new broom sweeps clean ' and why shouldn't that apply to gusts of wind as well...

Biggi

A Bit More Vegan.

Doing good.

" Only when we have become non-violent towards all life
will we have learned to live well ourselves. "
Cesar Chavez

" It's not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are. "
Roy E. Disney

" Animal factories are one more sign of the extent to which our technological capacities have advanced faster than our ethics."
Peter Singer

" Compassion is the best side effect of being vegan. "
Anonymous

" People may hate you for being different and not living by society's standards but deep down, they wish they had the courage to do the same. "
Anonymous

" It's pretty amazing to wake up every morning, knowing that every decision I make is to cause as little harm as possible. It's a pretty fantastic way to live. "
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

" Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect. "
Mark Twain

" Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution.
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. "
Thomas Edison

" Recognize meat for what it really is: the antibiotic-and-pesticide-laden corpse of a tortured animal. "
Ingrid Newkirk

Biggi

A Slow Return To Normal.

Christmas done and dusted.

The long lead-up to it is erased mere days after it. Two days on and we are starting to return to normal. Pants a bit tighter, liver a bit heavier and possessions a bit fuller. Yes, one never imagines it to be over so quickly considering that Lebkuchen & co can already be sighted late October not to mention the sounds of Boney M & Mariah Carey that drove us crazy a week into December. Yet we fall for it every time, the commercial side of Christmas that is.

Bob and I ventured forth to get more heating material at our local Lagerhaus, but they've decided to take a long vacation until the 7th of January which gave us a bit of a poser. More pellets are needed soon and our plan of stocking up leisurely in Deutsch Schützen went out the window. Never mind, we made a plan and drove through to Grosspetersdorf, where luckily all shops were open for trade.

Despite the fact that we could quite easily survive on what we've got in our fridge and larder for another week, we both deemed it necessary to stock up for groceries. Christmas does have a tendency to raise the bar for meals. Perhaps those few days of grazing merrily all day long on food and gifts changes our perception of what is proper food. So with that in mind the two of us meandered the aisles of Penny and managed to put together a nice follow up to our Christmas menu. Just a few days more before we head back to normal.

As per usual we encountered a few locals and exchanged seasonal greetings. What does one say three days after the event? Merry Christmas seems a bit passe and Happy New Year a bit too soon. We settled on the middle ground and wished each other a Nice Weekend, which is one of the nicer aspects of Christmas...after those two public holidays a twinset of days arrive to let us relax while savouring all those new gifts we've received, the food we've consumed and the people we've met...

Biggi

A Leisurely Morning.

A fabulous walk in the Deutsch Schützen vineyards.

The road taken does make a difference. Usually as I walk outside our front door I decide which direction to go. Left takes me to somewhere in the Eisenberg vineyards, center takes me along the former border to Hungary and right lets me traverse the Deutsch Schützen vineyards. Today's choice.

A walk like any other day except for the numerous encounters I had the fortune to have. At first two dogs recognized me and were dashing towards me with enough cheer to last a week. Is there anything nicer than to be greeted exuberantly by a dog? Just love it. A ten minute chat with their owner ensued and I must say, everyone is in a better mood after a day of rest and more ahead.

A bit further along another dog came my way, albeit at first a bit hesitatingly. Dogs aren't ubiquitous on my walks therefore I do recognize each one by their shape, manner and gait. Not to mention their owners. This time it was a bit more formal, and quick seasonal greetings were exchanged. But, at least the dog had given me a quick grin and cuddle before heading off to scent his way about.

My last encounter was a much longer one. I think we stood there for at least fifteen minutes exchanging greetings, news and village gossip. All the while her little dog was bravely biding his time to do a round of investigative sniffing.

Taking the time for a bit of a chat is priceless. It gives structure to perhaps an otherwise lonely day, it lends a token of belonging and it strengthens those important threads that make up the tapestry of our lives. It doesn't take much to stop to chat. Often a smile and ' hello ' are enough to banish a day of loneliness and despair. Can't wait to see who I will meet tomorrow...

Biggi

A Bit Of Christmas.

That special Christmas feeling.

" Christmas is not a date. It is a state of mind. "
Mary Ellen Chase

" I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. "
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

" Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. "
Laura Ingalls Wilder

" Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered. "
Phyllis Diller

" On Christmas, all roads lead home. "
Marjorie Holmes

" Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality. "
Washington Irving

" Love the giver more than the gift. "
Brigham Young

" For it is in giving that we receive. "
Francis of Assisi

" A good conscience is a continual Christmas. "
Benjamin Franklin

Biggi

An Different Christmas This Year.

A sunny start to the 24th of December.

The sun was just about to show itself as I was walking behind Eisenberg's church, casting that magical spell that only an early morning can hold.

The clouds formed into an awesome shape and promised a spectacular Christmas ahead. A day filled with promise and expectations.

Along the path a shrub that I like to call ' popcorn shrub ' because these white balls do look good enough to eat.

The forest seems to refuse to let the sun do its thing. Never mind, a certain mystique ensues when mist and fog are the mainstay.

A lovely and soft bed of moss upon which leaves like to recline and shine.

Towards the end of my walk I encountered a troupe of deer jumping gracefully alongside a thankfully empty road.
Snow at Christmas is out of the question especially when you see the vibrant colour of a nature that might have escaped the clutches of a cold winter...

Biggi

Shoe Testing Required.

The peculiarity of living in an old house.

Living in South Africa one does expect exotic animals to pop up and out of any gap in a house. And they did. Scorpions, spiders and snakes were top of the list. Well, scorpions actually only whilst camping but nonetheless, spiders and snakes do the trick of keeping one on one's toes. Shaking out a shoe before putting it on was second nature...just in case.

Fast forward to a nice and comfortable house in the midst of Europe, a place sans scorpions, poisonous spiders or snakes and the ease with which one can don a shoe even when half asleep. But that is so last season as now we have a few resident mice who have taken up house in our extensive shoe collection.

With a feline murderess hunting up and down our house one can't blame these little rodents for taking refuge within a shoe, smelly or not, knowing full and well that her highness can't reach them there.

Clever little things really. I only became aware of these sanctuary seekers when I saw Miss Maus taking up her post hours on end watching every movement from the shoe rack. At times she must have attempted to shake the little buggers loose as there have been mornings when none of the shoes were on the rack but all inelegantly strewn about the vestibule.

My long shoehorn comes in handy before I put on any of my shoes. I actually run it inside each shoe to make sure there isn't an exhausted rodent seeking a much deserved rest from their wicked feline huntress. She, who never lets up and she, who I fear might one day decide to give us the spoils of her hunt neatly thrown atop of us while we are sleeping.

There is a plus side to it all as Miss Maus has hours of entertainment trying to chase her little nemesis around our house. Better than any store bought cat toy!

Biggi

Changing Lights.

The vagary of winter.

It is raining buckets and as the ground is rather soaked already, puddles, streams and rivers abound. Even the little trickle that usually translates to the pond behind our house is now a raging torrent that can be heard from a distance. Cold though, it isn't. Strange to imagine walking about on Christmas Eve avoiding puddles, mud and rain. Snow would be much nicer, I think.

I shouldn't complain about the rain as rain denotes warmer temperatures and more importantly, enough water to negate any droughts. Had one a few years ago and many were starting to panic. Good vintage though!

But, the most amazing bit about this time of the year is that from now on, the days get longer and the nights shorter. Yes, the winter solstice has done its magic. Dusk at four is on the way out and not a day too soon. Cabin fever has gripped quite a few and moodiness is not a stranger. At least we love to read but what about those that don't? Suddenly a month of being more or less stuck indoors could be anything but a charming holiday.

The changing light will also impact on our feral boys' dinner times. Usually I feed them when on the cusp of dusk as I feel that dinner times should coincide with dusk and darkness. Of course the two of them have only yesterday been outed as epicures by pure chance. Our neighbour had stopped outside his garden shed across from our house and proudly told me;

" Biggi, I always put out food for your cats as they scout about looking hungry. "

Agh, what scoundrels they are. Breakfast at the lady down the road, lunch and snacks at my neighbour's garden shed and scrumptious dinner at chez nous....Could it be the year of the cat?

Regardless of what the weather holds in store, we are going to enjoy this relaxing and quiet part of the year. Being together, healthy and happy is all that counts.

Biggi

Quotes On World History.

The past contains so many interesting insights.

" There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory. "
Sir Francis Drake ( c.1540-1596 )

" A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless. "
James I / James VI of Scotland ( 1566-1625 ) Counter-blast to Tobacco

" Remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me; otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it. "
Oliver Cromwell ( 1599-1658 )

" History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies. "
Alexis de Tocqueville ( 1805-1859 )

" The absent are always in the wrong. "
Philippe Nericault Destouches ( 1680-1754 )

" Drive out prejudices through the door, and they will return through the window. "
Frederick the Great ( 1712-1786 ) Letter to Voltaire March 19th 1771

" Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination. "
Immanuel Kant ( 1724-1804 )

" Necessity never made a good bargain. "
Benjamin Franklin ( 1706-1790 )

" There never was a good war, or a bad peace. "
Benjamin Franklin ( 1706-1790 )

Biggi

The Charm Of Life In Eisenberg.

Having the freedom to live.

Eisenberg has many layers. As small as it is, there are the various social strata. Those born and raised here, those who escaped to Vienna for at least a decade and returned, those that commute daily to Vienna and those that have learned from having lived in different countries or continents how marvelous life actually is when living in Eisenberg.

Yes, of course we fall in the latter category. Compared to life in South Africa, America or England here in Burgenland it is paradise. So there I was driving across one Eisenberg to the next one ( Eisenberg Weinberg ) to check if I had left a towel on a hot rail earlier whilst cleaning, when I ran into another newly settled Happy Person.

He had taken a detour of almost twenty years in Canada and has settled recently in our neck of the woods. Whenever we meet up we chat about this, that and the beauty of life here. The quietness of life. The ordinariness of life. The plainness of life. All of these three attributes contribute to being able to go on with just being. No need to create a mask for others. No need to run after social acceptance but rather living in an authentic way.

Being able to just be oneself frees up so much time and energy, which in turn creates the backdrop to a happy life. Thank goodness it isn't for everyone as there might be an onslaught of new Eisenbergers and isn't it our differences that make us interesting...

Biggi

And Suddenly It's Warm Again.

The winds of change?

Most of us have had the heavy weather gear ready and waiting by the door. It is winter after all and like it or not, here in the Northern Hemisphere one expects bitterly cold winters. Well, perhaps Bob is the exception as he hopes for warmer climes. Gloves, scarves, beanies and heavy coats have had to stay a bit longer in the wardrobe these last few weeks. Who would have thought that mere days before Christmas the temperature would reach about 17 degrees, plus that is...

Birds are confused, cats have the time of their lives being able to get hold of their prey more leisurely ( except ours who are so full from meals supplied by Bob & Biggi ) and some humans aren't quite into the swing of Glühwein. Not very attractive to sweat whilst drinking a hot toddy.

Earlier I was walking down the road to hand out two parcels of Christmas cookies to those alone over the season but somehow it felt all wrong. Easter eggs would have been more apt for these temperatures. Whatever happened to a nice white dusting of snow on the road, heaps on the verges and snowmen of all shapes and sizes reminding us of days gone by?

Don't get me wrong, I am well used to hot Christmases but then it was a warm enough to have it around the pool. These neither here nor there temperatures make it a tad difficult. One still has to anticipate a cold resurgence by lugging copious and bulky winter clothes about.

Deep down I fear that I might have spoken too soon as there could be an extremely cold spell ahead, but that is fine as the end of winter is so much nearer...and who knows, a few of us will be pleased as punch to prance gingerly in icy terrain. Let's just hope that this isn't a little taste of our future. Climate change, it's here, isn't it?

Biggi

A Sheep In Need.

A good deed done.

A little voice told me to take this route today and about half way through, I knew why. It was still early on with not many souls astir apart from a flock of sheep grazing routinely on a temporary field. About thirty of them and as per usual I had conversations with them as I walked past. Granted a bit one sided but it is the thought that counts.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a lone sheep moving back and forth along the edge of a thorn bush. Oh dear, it was stuck and being pinned more and more by a hideous tentacles of a thorny bush. I stopped to calm it down with my voice as there was a electrified fence all around the field. It was starting to get more and more entangled while panicking more and more. One of its friends sauntered up to it and licked its face in an effort to calm it down. The rest of the herd stood at a safe distance, watching.

As luck would have it, a lady in the house next to the field was dashing about her yard. I called to her and she came over and I could explain the situation. She straightaway switched off the electricity and both of us hooved it over the fence to go and rescue our sheep. The thorns were huge and everywhere. She went back to get gloves and shears while I stayed with my sheep.

Talking to it made it calm down slightly and when I could see a gap, I stroked her little nose. It was appreciated. The rest of the flock had formed a semi circle close to us and were watching with bated breath. When the lady returned she expertly cut loose the strangling thorn reeds and within a minute the sheep had bucked its way to freedom and had run to its friends.

They instantly formed a protective circle around it while we went back over the fence and re-electrified it. All in all it took about ten minutes to save this sheep's life ( ironically I kept on thinking of its fate further down the line ) and I have to say, both of us were chuffed to bits to have done this rescue. Our smiles couldn't have been wider or happier. Animals are amazing, clever and also capable of feeling fear, desperation or joy.

I carried on walking but when I looked back over my shoulder, the whole troupe of sheep had lined up along the edge of the field to watch me walk along.
I accredited this to mean that they all wanted to say ' Thank you ' and have felt amazing the whole day. Helping animals is just this B's knees...

Biggi

Bob's A Gem.

Tales from home!

Bob and I headed for Oberwart yesterday happy in the belief that we could defy hordes of Christmas crazies who wouldn't be seen dead shopping on an ordinary Monday. How wrong we were... Just as crazy as a Saturday. Nonetheless, we had a plan and headed to the mecca of shopping a.k.a. Einkaufszentrum Oberwart and ticked off our mental list.

The first of the fast fashion shrines lured us in with 30% off everything in their store. What on earth? Obligingly we meandered about this clothing emporium but despite the lure of discounts neither of us found anything we might be tempted to buy. In fact it was rather demoralizing to see so much stuff. Funny how most cheap / fast fashion looks the same. They should just make one whole mega store and be done with it.

But be that as it may and more to the point, we are the odd ones out in that regard and can't win against a horde of fashion lemmings. As long as we are aware of how futile fashion really is.

On the way home, Bob surprised me yet again with this statement;

" You know, I was going to buy some new tracksuit pants but when I tried them on, I realized that I already have two pairs. I don't need another one. So I put it back. "

How fantastic. I think that once we open our mind and thoughts to the fact that everything we do makes a difference, good or bad, we can't go back to burying our heads in piles of stuff.

Biggi

Searching For Nudie Jeans.

Trying to shop responsibly.

Somehow I have got wind of a make of jeans that ticks all the environmental boxes and then some more. Cult, I would say. Expensive too but one should only buy a pair every few years. Yes, one pair, washed often and worn with aplomb, style and comfort.

Trouble is, these jeans are only available in major cities or online. There is no way that I will order a pair of expensive jeans via the internet. I want to try them on and get a feel for them before stepping up to the till. At least that is how I am. Still living in the twentieth Century it seems.

There is a clothing emporium in Vienna ( which has a branch in Oberwart ) that stocks some of these Nudie Jeans. Well, I thought that today I would venture into said store and ask about these jeans. In all our time here I have been in there perhaps three times and each one left me with a distinct taste of snobbery in my mouth. Gosh, just because a store sells expensive items one doesn't have to look down upon those that aren't stuck with fashion labels top to bottom.

Again, I was made to feel as if firstly I was wasting their time, secondly that I should have known how their online concept works and not waste their time, and thirdly, they or rather one lady gave me a derisive smirk when I mentioned the greenness of the Nudie brand. In fact, she was talking to me but her eyes looked beyond me as if I wasn't worth her time. I hate that!

Rather sad how they treat their clients in such a small community considering that most of them already order from the trusty Amazon. Granted, I don't sprout labels and in fact often wear second hand stuff ( very proud of that fact! ) but I would have had enough to pay for a pair of these jeans...

Biggi

Delightful Early Morning Start To The Day.

Sunrise in Eisenberg.

The sun's just peeping through the edge of the forest making the trek up the hill worthwhile.

Could almost be out of Africa...The sky was perfectly honed to sport this sunrise.

The gathering winter clouds forming an interesting background not to mention the leaning tower of Eisenberg!

Deutsch Schützen in the valley waking up to another crisp and cold winter's morn...

A Sunday without even a glimpse of a church spiral seems sheer impossible...Deutsch Schützen's church seen surrounded by sunrise, trees, vineyards and beauty.

Biggi

Solitude.

A chance to center oneself.

" Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine. "
Honore de Balzac

" If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company. "
Jean-Paul Sartre

" The more powerful and original a mind,
the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude. "
Aldous Huxley

" A man can be himself only so long as he is alone;
and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom;
for it is only when he is alone that he is really free. "
Arthur Schopenhauer

" Solitude sometimes is best society. "
John Milton

" Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self. "
May Sarton

" Reading is that fruitful miracle of a communication in the midst of solitude. "
Marcel Proust

" The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. "
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

" When from our better selves we have too long
Been parted by the hurrying world, and droop,
Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired,
How gracious, how benign, is Solitude. "
William Wordsworth

" For it is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose. "
Marcus Aurelius

Biggi

And Then The Snow Came.

On Friday the thirteenth....

Fir cones dangling daringly with bits of white snow on their shoulders. Could anything be more indicative of the season?

Setting off this morning on my walk took a bit of convincing. It was dull, cold and slightly slippery. Nothing like the cozy warmth of our lounge.

The best prop to fairy tales. A gingerbread house of sorts hiding behind these snow covered bushes.

A quaint old trailer amid a pile of logs sitting ever so gently amid the splendour of our vineyards. A dash of colour...

A big pile of straw curiously enough sprouting fresh green blades of grass, covered with a gentle layer of our first snow of the season. Rather picturesque.

One blade of our lavender seems to defy logic and season. A bit of purple magic right outside our front door.

Biggi

Feline Slaves...

Bonding over Gourmet.

Each and every time I shop for feline snacks - food is so blase and snacks much more appropriate - a saga of the modern feline slave ensues. There are so many of us congregating in those aisles that stock our salvation. Gourmet.

It mightn't surprise you that our Mausi is as spoilt, finicky and fickle as they come. Meal times are accompanied by nervous ticks ( ours ), indecision as to whether Salmon souffle dotted with steamed carrots , an ordinary yet well spiced Beef stew or a dish of Egg souffle spiked with bits of spicy chicken might set our princesses taste buds alight. Gosh, when she likes what we've dished up for her, it turns an evening into a successful one.

Shopping for her is a nightmare. As you might have guessed her Gourmet brand is tres expensive. Not that this bothers her. Nothing and no one will get her to eat what she doesn't like even if she would have to starve until she ate it ( don't worry, we are putty in her hands and give in within an hour ).

Well, the other day as I was dithering in front of the Gourmet assortment at an Oberwart shop, another rather exasperated woman was trying to choose the correct flavour of food for her felines. Oh dear, once we started up a conversation or rather exchange of meal time stories, ( honestly, it doesn't take long to find out about finicky kittens ) she confessed to having three equally finicky and picky felines at home. In a way that made me feel grateful for only having to make sure one kitten is fed...

P/S: There might be some of you thinking we should just give her something else...done that many a times and had to throw everything out and revert to Gourmet.

Biggi

Thoughtful Consumption.

Another way to help the planet and our wallet.

Marriages do have fun dynamics. Take clothes for example. More his clothes or rather his jerseys and jackets. Makes us fairer lot rather lucky to not have to share our clothes.

Bob has two jerseys that he bought a few years ago. The first one of these, a nice brown v-neck had to do a lengthy sentence at the back of his side of the wardrobe and hadn't seen the light of day for at least six months. The proper season it should have been worn. Well, I tucked that little tidbit away in my mind and pounced the following year.

Winter, layers and nothing better than a simple v-neck for it. Buying one would be silly and thus I dug out his forgotten jersey and wore it for that winter. Bob didn't even notice...until the year after that one. Suddenly he wanted it back and had the cheek to mumble;

" You took my jersey and I had nothing to wear. "

Worthy of a violin! Well, well, far be it from me to take his stuff ( what are wives for though? ) and with that, I neatly folded it back onto his shelf. You guessed it. Languished and forgotten it has been except for one outing to Denmark.

On to the second item of Bob's clothing that I've been eyeing for some time. Again, it has been a prisoner of the third shelf and the odd time I dared to take it out for a spin, Bob put in a veto along the lines of me taking his stuff. Well, today I finally took it over ( suits me better anyway ) and when I wore it in front of him he hardly noticed but eventually said that he never liked its collar thus never wore it. Done and dusted, jersey has finished its shelf sentence for good.

But what I finally realized this afternoon was the fact that sharing our clothes ( well those that fit both of us ) is not a shifty trick but in fact another way to save our climate. One less item produced, an owned item actually used and more money in the bank...

Biggi

Beautiful And Serene Village Life.

Away from the hustle and bustle.

Those living in bustling towns, surrounded by hordes of people and being constantly on the go from here to there won't understand the sheer pleasure living in a small village means. Utter bliss.

Living in a village with less inhabitants than a modern high rise, translates to normalcy interlaced with peace and quiet. Just what the doctor ordered. Life is to be lived after all.

Rather quaint how small our community is. Take today for example. I was on the way to visit someone but driving along the main road I noticed her car outside one of the houses. Her friend's house. Yes, here one can memorize number plates and learn where other people's best friends live. Marvelous exercise to hone one's memory skills and also a wonderful way to be in the know!

Even a short trip to the local bank means a whole lot of smiles, greetings and conversations. Information exchange the old fashioned way, lingering long enough to find out about the other person's live, children and spouse. Moments like these are getting fewer and fewer in the modern world where bending one's head to read one's palm is becoming more and more normal.

Naturally there are drawbacks to living in a fishbowl. Rumours spread like wildfire and privacy is often only contained behind a big hedge. Yet, isn't that what makes it so very attractive...one is still cared about enough to be talked about and despite everything, neighbours still help each other out...

Biggi

A Cat Up A Tree.

Feline attraction.

Bitterly cold almost close to icy when I walked with my friend through the Deutsch Schützen vineyards. Lovely to walk but icy all the same. Halfway through our walk I noticed a tabby crossing ahead of me doing the notorious quick dash to escape a cuddle and not ten meters further along another feline reclining dashingly atop a little hill all the while giving us the once over, ready too for a quick dash away from these old biddies!

Quaint, I thought, how cats are in my life and around it too and we walked a bit further. Perhaps I had my head in the clouds because suddenly I noticed something resembling a kitten right up a birch tree. High up indeed. We stopped and I made sure that I hadn't mistaken it for a martin but no, a kitten it was, dangling ever so nonchalantly between two branches.

Surely you can guess that I started to worry about this little one. Had she become stuck and was freezing? Or had she merely escaped from a tedious neighbourhood dog? Or was the view better up there? I went back and forwards in front of her trying to see a movement. Thankfully, her eyes followed me but she wouldn't budge.

My friend sagely mentioned her neighbour's cat doing exactly that and that it was more than capable to climb down a tree. Oh well, I agreed and we went home although I had a plan for my husband who happened to be home on leave. What good is a husband in a fire brigade if one can't make use of him and a tall ladder?

As you can imagine, he was far from pleased at the thought of going outside in the freezing cold trying to get a kitten ( who might not be there anymore ) down a tree. Suffice to say that I drove back there half an hour later, on my own, to see if a cat was indeed stuck in a tree. Visions of having to call out the troupes without looking too much like a crazy cat lady flashed through my mind. Too late. Perfect moniker indeed.

Shoo, luckily it had climbed back down on its own and my kitten rescue was more theoretical than real...as for Bob, let's hope I never climb high up on a tree because he might just leave me up there!

What a beauty. She was at least five meters up that birch on her perch...

Biggi

Love And Marriage...

Others have coined it well...

" It's not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages. "
Friedrich Nietzsche

" I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy.
First, let her think she's having her own way. And second, let her have it. "
Lyndon B. Johnson

" Marriage is an adventure, like going to war. "
Gilbert K. Chesterton

" Happy is the man who finds a true friend,
and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife. "
Franz Schubert

" When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her. "
Sacha Guitry

" The best way to get most husbands to do something
is to suggest that perhaps they're too old to do it. "
Ann Bancroft

" If love means never having to say you're sorry,
then marriage means always having to say everything twice. "
Estelle Getty

" When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car or a new wife. "
Prince Philip

Biggi

A Bracingly Cold Winter's Day.

Chilling on a Saturday...

Chilling indeed. This time around the cold seems to seep through ones bones and make huddling under a blanket a must. Book in hand of course and cat on lap. Marvelous to read when it is cold as one doesn't want to stop and get up. Making a cup of hot tea or coffee involves hinting at one's spouse long enough for him to put the kettle on.

The temperature itself isn't that dramatic but the air has that distinct chill in it. Walking this morning turned out to be fabulous once I had gotten through the first ten minutes of temperature shock. Fingers encased in gloves still appear to go on strike with cold but I always think of the many people who have no choice but to be in the cold and therefore I can easily handle an hour and a half of it.

Nature, once the fine mist of smog clears ( unfortunately our area is chimney laden and white spirals of smoke are everywhere ) couldn't be any prettier. Yes, green is at a minimum, leaves almost none yet despite that, nature excels even if just as a reminder that Christmas is mere weeks away.

Making oodles of hot beverages, reading books, snacking on yummy foods and hanging out with one's special person makes it rather fun to field a true winter's day. In fact, my book is so gripping that I hope tomorrow will mirror itself on today...

Biggi

Food, What Else?

Food, what a pleasure.

" As long as you have food in your mouth,
you have solved all questions for the time being. "
Franz Kafka

" Only the pure in heart can make a good soup. "
Ludwig von Beethoven

" When a man's stomach is full it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor. "
Euripides

" If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts. "
W. Somerset Maugham

" You learn to cook so that you don't have to be a slave to recipes.
You get what's in season and you know what to do with it. "
Julia Child

" If you are ever at a loss to support a flagging conversation,
introduce the subject of eating. "
Leigh Hunt

" Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. "
Orson Welles

" What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes,
he must be a pretty decent fellow. "
A.A.Milne

" There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't,
and that's a wife who can't cook and will. "
Robert Frost

" All sorrows are less with bread. "
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Biggi

Society Ladies At Lunch.

Everybody loves Chinese food.

Yes, guilty. Bob and I took a turn at our favourite lunch spot and spotted interesting sub-plots. Today it was a hive of activity for some reason and the two of us sat almost out the door but somehow still tantalizingly close to the buffet and with a view of most other guests.

Halfway through lunch I noticed a lady of slightly older age, dressed to the hilt or more appropriately like the proverbial mutton albeit rather expensively. A maven of local society, closer to 80 than to 60. She hovered until she spotted her two friends sitting at a table. Another two ladies of Oberwart influence indeed.

All turned out and made up to perfection with not even the lipstick out of place. Bravo when considering that the rest of us were dressed casually ( and comfortably ) in stretch jeans and jerseys. One of them had a great haircut and colour, dressed stylishly in exclusive designer gear and at a distance looked to be about 50.

When she got up to get her food I noticed that tell tale walk one has when the hips give up. Yes, she was older than the apparent 50ish. As I was busy watching this trio, Bob noticed and I told him about my theory of these society friends meeting for lunch and them being more or less the same age. No, he didn't believe me as the one gal looked rather fetching for an older woman...as he hastened to add!

When she got up again for seconds, he had a quick glance and noticed her slightly bent walk, but still couldn't quite believe it. Never mind, it was just one of those interesting plots one picks up when studying people. They all seemed to have known each other from way back, but obviously had aged differently. I was wondering what their husbands would look like or if they were still around. There is nothing more interesting than to paint in a background ( real or not ) of people one meets or sees...

Biggi

Making Vegan Sushi.

And the repertoire grows.

The other day I watched someone make some vegan sushi and thought I would give it a try. It looked easy enough and with enough practice mine might look like it too. The beauty of this sort of sushi is that apart from the nori rolls, all one needs is left over rice -stodgy is best and mine ends up like that in any case- and whatever vegetables on hand. Brilliant and tasty treats.

While Bob was away last week I made one batch and loved it. When he got back I made another batch which he only loved after trying it. Funny, when I asked him if he wanted some sushi he straight away declined thinking it would be nothing like what we eat at our local Chinese. Never mind, I made enough for two and cunningly asked him to try one piece...suffice to say that he loved it and had most of the other sushi pieces. Yes, a culinary winner in my growing repertoire.

Yesterday there was some tasty brown rice left over, avo too and I thought why not make a bit of sushi for Bob's lunch bag. An addition to his normal sandwiches!
I made two nori rolls ( about 8 pieces ) of rice, avocado and vegan mayo which looked amateurish but nevertheless a change from the normal. The only other thing I put in for these pieces was ample soy sauce for dipping.

Naturally I couldn't wait for Bob to come home and to find out how they had tasted and if his work colleagues had tried some. Turns out that Bob had taken out his container with sushi and as most of his work friends are non-sushi & non-vegan types, it attracted some attention. Bob being Bob, he offered it around for them to try.

" Here, try a bit of this. "

" Oh no! I wont touch anything that is vegan! "

yes, a true carnivore there...to which my darling husband replied:

" Oh, really? Then why are you eating those three dry bread rolls?
They are flour, water and salt and therefore VEGAN! "

... now that would have been a real Kodak moment!

Biggi

Birds, Sunflower Seeds And Oodles Of Feline Entertainment.

Feeding the flock.

Like all good ideas, Bob thought of it first or he was more alert in the store. Feeding birds is something one needs to be reminded about and most shops have displays of bird feed next to the entrance. Birds appear so self sufficient as they flit this way and that around trees, shrubs or bushes which somehow belies the fact that they cannot find enough food to last the winter.

With all our autonomous farming and our extreme need for picture perfect gardens, birds are left in the lurch trying their hardest to get by with the meager offerings left over for them. Lushious rain worms are relics from those times when poisonous fertilizers hadn't been thought of. What's left to eat for our early morning crooners?

Bob bought a big bag of sunflower seeds and has been throwing out a couple of handfuls on the grass outside our lounge window every morning. It is amazing how quickly the tweets got out that there is free grub on offer. A couple of tweeters turned into an armada of little birds larking about whilst happily diving for sunflower seeds.

What a stroke of luck for us that cats love watching birds at play. Once our princess has shaken off the remnants of slumber and has eaten her fill of breakfast, she likes nothing better than to hover on the windowsill, avidly spectating the real time entertainment outside the window. Birds landing, taking off or skydiving to the ground are keeping her happy for hours on end. Often she adds her two cents worth but as they are on the other side of the glass, they can't hear her or respond.

Feeding birds is so necessary and it doesn't cost us much apart from remembering to put the food out. Today I have bought bird feed that has many different kernels in it and perhaps it will attract a more diverse lot of tweeters...

Biggi

How Much Is Enough?

The lure of cheapness.

One can't escape it really. Christmas or rather shopping madness is ubiquitous and nonstop. Everything from hoovers to perfume is being touted as the must have of all must haves. Cyber days end and are replaced by cyber weeks. Days are black and blue all of a sudden and I am at a loss how so many fall for it all the time.

If companies and corporation are able to give us up to 90% discount on products, either they have beforehand upped the price or the rest of the year we are paying clearly way to much for stuff. Corporations, companies and shops are not known for selling at a loss, now are they?

Be that as it may and sorry for all those lemmings falling for these false promises, yet the main problem is that we all have too much stuff. Too many pieces of furniture, clothing, toys, shoes or toiletries. We surely don't need more of the same stuff that we've yet to use from the year before? Most of us are drowning in all the useless things we buy or get given.

When you look around your house, gosh even the room your are in at this moment, I bet that you can spot at least three items that you've hardly ever used, honestly don't need, are collecting dust and most important of all,

are the things that cause the clutter which in turn drags us down, makes cleaning difficult and neatness shear impossible.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could instead get gift certificates from friends stating that they would collect one, two or more of our unwanted things and thus give us the comfort of a tidier space to live in?

Biggi

Decembers In Eisenberg.

A flashback through Decembers...

A warm and wooly cow on the meadow between Grosspetersdorf and Hannersberg sometime in December 2013. Gosh, I think Bob and I drove past this meadow quite often as we loved the look of these cows...

A December's day in 2014 had me capture a woodpecker whilst he was feeding. Isn't it a magnificent bird?

A tranquil December's day at the local pond in 2015. I love the depth of these winter colours.

A mysterious forest scene right out of a Hans Christian Andersen story. Also December 2015.

A gentle stream slowed down by ice crystals lent itself for this bright image back in December 2016.

Agh, I remember walking there one Sunday morning in December 2018 and capturing the entrance to Shangri-la right on our doorstep!

On the same walk, a perfectly normal and boring scene, yet the arrangement of colours coupled with its depth makes this quite nice to look at.

Biggi