The sound of silence…

My husband introduced me to the Peruvian Pan Flute more years ago than I’m willing to admit – love at first sound.

Yesterday a friend sent me a clip from YouTube: the Sounds of silence.

Reflect: the true sound of silence is so full.

As children, we listen, but don’t always hear – babies communicate without words and not always with cries either. Think of a mother’s smile as she tends to her baby – communication without words. Think of a lover’s glance – the whole world can be held in the lack of words.

Think of friends who exchange smiles – there is no better hello.

Think of the ill and their carers: again often a smile, a tear, and a sigh send more messages than words can ever communicate.

Think of those to whom you wave from a distance: a message is sent: I see you, I care about you.

Think of touch – the holding of hands, stroking of a cheek, the pat on the back or the knee. All communicate care, like or love – without a word.

In this busy world we should listen more to the sounds of silence. Enjoy the clip

https://www.youtube.com/embed/BFnjVazFSTE

The modern church or….

Some of them run disco evenings and now accept credit cards in lieu of the old coin slot.

For those of you who have travelled to Europe and if not for religious reasons, but for reasons of tourism have gone into a cathedral (more likely as the protestant churches seem to mainly be under lock and key except when in actual use) you will have noticed a slot box (usually in bronze or iron towards the first pews of the rear) in which one may make a donation for the upkeep of the church. Also where there are candles to be lit in front of saints there is another dropbox for the odd coin that they charge.

an old-fashioned coin box to pay for your voltive

Well, on one of my day trips to a big city in Northern Switzerland I popped into a church, only to find that they were advertising “disco nights” once a month (ok not a “proper” catholic church but a reformed church in a former cathedral, but also had installed a machine to the rear of the church for credit card payments.

the modern coin box

Where is the charm? I agree that some things probably need to be modernized, but seriously a credit card machine for church donations?

I will not visit that church again.

How to go crazy…

It doesn’t take much, nor long when dealing with administrative tasks!

This morning in the mail I received a letter announcing that if I didn’t pay within 10 days the property taxes in the next state up on a piece of land the family owns, this state would be within it’s legal rights to slap a mortgage on said property.

So far, so good.

However, I had already paid this tax shortly after I received it last fall!!! Even reconciled in my bank accounts so I know that the bank paid it (sometimes, I discover a month later that something I have scheduled hasn’t been paid… but that’s another problem).

I had used the payment slip they sent and did it on-line. This is an important fact as we have a reference number of some 20 digits that allows the receiver to correctly attribute the payment.

Instead of writing a letter, paying the postage and trying to cover any other payments from the bank as proof I decided, oh mistake, oh mistake, to call.

I properly followed the instructions and got the usual, “sorry all of our collaborators are busy”, with the addition of please consult our on-line pages.  Then after no collaborator is available within 10 minutes they simply say “sorry, no one is currently available, please call back later”. I repeated this cycle 6 – yes SIX – times (never had it worse), meanwhile duly checking the website, but of course, my question isn’t covered.

The sixth time I go someone and with my client number was able to have her “find” the payment. Although there are separate reference numbers for each bill, it seems that the banks sometimes “correct” the number to the one that you last used for that invoice and thus my property tax payment became simply a payment on my income taxes. Arghhhhh

And I can’t say that loud enough! At least this year I am forewarned.

There are days like that: I also have no heating in the attic so I called the heating chap. He was quick, but the problem couldn’t be solved so now I’m waiting for the company that checks the whole system to call me and come see.

I have dinner with a friend, which will save my mood, then it’s coffee with girlfriends followed by cocktails tonight with the neighbours. My day will end better than it began.

And, oh, the sun is shining. Right now though my blood pressure is through the roof and my faith in the “system” non-existant

.

I can’t lick my rear…

Nor do I wish to, but I daily admire the ability of my two cats to lick any part of their body!

So supple: yes some of the positions look weird, but I truly wish I had their capacity to turn my body into a pretzel. Imagine being able to bite that itch in the middle of one’s back, or

to inspect a spot on the back of one’s thigh. The only place they have to actually use a paw to reach is their head and ears and someday I fully expect to see them simply make their tongues longer!

stray cat

A few wee years ago…

Our eldest was born on a Saturday evening after having spent Friday night asleep (there are some lucky moms in this world – I was twice – as both my sons were born on Saturday nights after daytime labor and I proceeded to sleep after their births as well).

He had all the pertinent parts, thrived and now is, in turn, a father himself.

Feet seem to be a thing in our family so instead of the usual newborn baby picture here is the one that most impressed family and friends alike and led to my insisting that his son also have his footprints taken.

All the best my son.

Utterly or Udderly?

I came back to Switzerland a long, long time ago, but it’s really my sister who loves cows.

I love the mountains, the lakes, the folklore (including cows), the paper cutting and in general most everything – so much so that I actually took the nationality.

But cows, they are something typical and somehow sacred to Swiss folklore. So many things from cows, including the cheeses for the national dishes of fondue or raclette, never mind the very-sought-after Gruyères cheese.

Once a year there is an exhibition “Swissexpo” concerning only cows. For the past 17 years it was held in Lausanne, but due to the obsolescence of the exhibition grounds there and the lack of good access, this year the International (yes, there were some 200 cows from outside of Switzerland!) fair for cows “Swissexpo” was held in Geneva.

I saw all 1’000 cows, admired them being groomed for show and duly noted all the agricultural supplies, equipment, etc. on show.  German seemed to be the main language and interestingly enough there were as many young women taking care of them as young men. I noticed that the girls seemed to work slightly harder as well so it will be interesting to see in a few years time a farm or group of cows owned and cared for only by women.

Although I didn’t take too many pictures, there were many a scene that I wouldn’t have thought of, not being a farmer myself: the dash to put a pail under the tail anytime a cow decided to produce a leak or more; the forking over of fresh hay constantly; the attention given to hair cutting (or whatever one calls it if it is an animal – not shearing as they weren’t taking all the hair off), the waxing of the udders to make them stand out more, the precise braiding or fancy cutting of the tails, etc. Truly a fascinating industry when seen close up.

One also forgets that on top of nature’s “calls” that the milk cows need to be milked.

udderly attached

 And of course there were specimens of the next generation to admire.

All in all a few hours well spent!

utterly adorable

Catching up, or

Finally having lunch with a friend of long date, but one with whom we seem to struggle these days to schedule anything. She comes and goes and I come and go and as Rudyard Kipling said about East and West “never twain shall meet”.

I don’t remember how many dates and hours we tried until today’s lunch worked – but that’s the beauty of friendship – one keeps at it until it works!

The time passed, as usual, in a flash. Lunch was delicious the talk more so.

Caught up? Not quite, but better than if we hadn’t taken those few hours.

Oops we neglected to plan the next coffee, sushi, Indian, or whatever else our tastebuds fall for, back to the e-mails, the WhatsApp “conversations”. 

Train to somewhere…

Train to nowhere – travelling for me is often simply going with the flow. And that can be metaphorically or physically given that we certainly have enough rivers and lakes.

I bought myself 20 “day” cards on the Swiss train system for my birthday last year and am really enjoying the joys of “getting up and going” when the mood hits.

Last Saturday I finally made it to Basel (have been saying that I would for several months now, but something – or rather several someones – more interesting came up and I never managed.)

Dame Helvetia overlooking the Rhine in Basel

View of the alps from above the Bern train station Jan 11, 2020

Tuesday I accompanied my younger son on the day out, which I had given him as a Christmas present: a gloriously sunny day, we left at 8 a.m. and returned at 8 p.m. having spent only about 2 and a half hours on foot in all that time. So beautiful that we kept doing loops. Original goal – Lucerne – where I showed him some of the sites and where we ate in Tibits, the new vegetarian restaurant chain that has taken over most of the major train stations. It was so lovely that instead of back-tracking we did a loop to Interlaken so managed to see many of the famous mountain peaks all in one day. Were happily tired but still had a last bite in our local restaurant to round off the day.

Welcome to Lucerne

The old wooden bridge in Lucerne

The lakes on the loop from Lucerne to Interlaken

The same view of the alps from above the Bern train station Jan 14, 2020

Writing exercises or…

Everyone’s imagination is different: fascinating.

Last year at some point I made the trip down to my former housemate’s flat in Southern France for a bit of R&R. She is a writer, a published writer, (http://donnalanenelson.com/) and one of our friends who also lives in the village and she get together for writing exercises. When I’m there I love to join either one or both. Someone picks a person walking by (we sit in an outside café) and we then have 10 minutes to come up with a story. This time however we were simply sitting at the table in her flat with a carton of tomato spread.

This is an example: first my version, then hers

JSL

Why am I here?

I am a plastic carton with tomato spread, supplied for a hen party to go on toast. Is that the sum total of me? What is my purpose in life? Do I have a goal to fulfill? How was I made?

So many questions, so little time. I will attempt an answer to these deep philosophical questions so that all may come to learn of my importance.

Let’s start with the end: how was I made? No one knows exactly although my father supplied the main ingredient, i.e. a tomato. Is my mother the creamy substance? Are my brothers and sisters in the same sauce – as spices – as herbs? In any case I was told that the total of me is delicious. What’s that? I’m short on emotional intelligence.

Do I have a goal to fulfill? Well the obvious one would be that of enhancing a meal (a word I have heard, but for which I have no understanding as I don’t “eat”). And I also have very limited knowledge of goals, although I have heard my maker say that his goal was to please people: a totally unknown concept to me.

What is my purpose in life? Is it only to be spread on those toasts? Do I enhance them, do I simply exist on them? Maybe it is my colour, one to give warmth and cheer although I believe that it wasn’t that cold the day that I was ordered and given to the woman who picked me up.

What is the sum total of me? I am not even sure how many ingredients went into my making and as I have no emotions I am sure I can’t answer that question. I did, however,

overhear one of the women who consumed me say that I leant a certain ambiance to their party. Oh, I know, my importance lay in the fact that I attended a meal shared by women who are friends.

Donna-Lane’s version:

“Red pepper.” Janice spoke in a low voice so Peter wouldn’t hear. He claimed he hated red pepper. If he hadn’t gone out that afternoon, she would never have been able to roast the peppers and peel the blackened skin, add the tomato paste and blend it with crème fresh. Peter loved the result on toast

“Red pepper?” Darlene said not in a low voice.

“Red pepper, I hate red peppers,” Peter said. He’d been talking with Clive on the other side of the fireplace.

“Your wife says that the secret ingredient.” She pointed to the plastic container. Remnants of the spread clung to the side. Peter must have eaten half of it.

“Janice!” His tone matched the time she had washed his boxer shorts with her red blouse dying them pink.

Janice wanted to strangle Darlene. Why had she risked telling Darlene her secret ingredient when Peter was in the room. “You love the spread.”

“You lied,” his frown brought his eyebrows together in the glower she knew all to well.

“I never lied.”

“By omission.” He slammed out of the room.

Nature’s glory or….

Watching a full moon rise.

I missed the almost-full-moon yesterday as it was well in the sky by the time I returned home and noticed it. I was more aware of its being the full moon today but had no idea that on my way back from visiting my grandson that the timing would be so good.

Truly one of life’s ongoing wonders – and often my best full moon photos are of the January one – not sure why, don’t care – just enjoy.

The start of something big… or

One of my presents (thanks S), was a jigsaw puzzle – of 5’000 pieces!

I can do the small ones (up to 500) in a short time – a couple of fun afternoons in the winter garden. Up until now I have not gone beyond 2’000 and this one promises to bring not just a few afternoons or hours, but many, many, many.

I have even located a board to put it on as may have to occasionally move it before I’m done and my puzzle cloth that allows me to roll up the current one with minimal displacement when I put it back down, just isn’t going to cut it.

I have actually already put together 10 pieces – hmmmm – a few more to go!

Someone invented the word foofarah

100 years before I was born….

Now that has a wonderful ring to it, foofarah this and foofarah that, we sometimes shorten it to froufrou – or at least that is what I remember.

And straight out of one of my favorite sites http://wordsmith.org/awad/

ETYMOLOGY:

Foofaraw is a word from the American West, but how was it formed? Nobody knows. Perhaps from French fanfaron or Spanish fanfarrón. Earliest documented use: 1848.

Meaning:

Excessive or unnecessary ornamentation.
2. Fuss; commotion.

I love the froofarah of Christmas – the more the merrier and the like. As a child one of the greatest treats on Christmas Eve was after opening presents and having had dinner we were allowed to fill our pockets with cookies (some of us got sick every Christmas Eve, but I’m not naming names) pile into the car and go see the decorations of the mansions in Pasadena. A child’s wonderland.

As to the other definition: I can make a froofarah at times myself so it is good to have the appropriate word with which to confound my family or friends.

From ABC https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-01/christmas-lights-and-how-to-avoid-complaints-from-neighbours/10564582

Casting a long shadow or…

Reflections as I walk.

For various reasons: the sun was out, I haven’t been walking regularly in quite some time, my younger son has the flu, I just had a bad cold and really, really need to ramp up the health care, I decided to take a walk yesterday (and again today).

Decided to start small with just a flat walk and only a half an hour.

It was the end of the day and as I walked along one of the roads I noticed my shadow – a very, very long shadow stretching meters across the fields.

I reflected upon the phrase “to cast a long shadow”.

If “cast a shadow” has a negative connotation, “to cast a long shadow” doesn’t always:

simply the notion of someone or something having a great or long-standing influence.

Positive examples could be Florence Nightingale, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, etc.

Then I related this notion to people: when we are small, our shadows are also small, as they are in the morning. At noon, or the height of our lives, the shadow is non-existent (does that mean that we are at our most egotistical?), but late in the day – or late in our lives – our shadows extend way across the fields. It gave me pause for thought: may my personal shadow be one that extends good, one that bears only positivity and love.

Am I really that dirty?

OK it’s probably more of a “she has everything” syndrome, but this Christmas was particularly rich in the gifting of bath soaps, bubbles, balls, gels and the like. If I don’t count the refill on my favorite bath gel that my older son finally remembered – yeah – I got various bath supplies from three different people.

Not complaining as have already used a couple and only the best of the best, still one does wonder if I have some kind of apparent smudges, body odor or other reasons that would bring most of my family and friends to gift me with bath supplies.

Ah, ha, it now dawns on me that many know that in the winter I do adore a good, long, hot bath. So they will all get used before next Christmas!

The grandmother calendar or…

I’ve finally made it.

The birth of one’s first grandchild is an indescribable event.

The only present I truly wanted for Christmas was photo evidence of this miracle in my

Life – and I got it!

It hangs downstairs where I see it not only first thing in the morning but several times throughout the day. 12 months to enjoy seeing him grow from 0 – 7 months!

And yes, I was good – no sneak peaking – yet - not sure how long I will be able to hold out though so all bets are off.

New beginnings and all that….

Why do we automatically presume that we must make New Years’

Resolutions, never mind, keep them? Especially as most of us don’t even manage

to master those daily lists.

Still a new year, and now a new decade do call us to reflect and perhaps give some

consideration to what we would like, if not need, to change in our lives.

Yesterday I did make a start, not on any list of resolutions, but simply put it into my

head that 2020 will see me continuing something I started two years ago, ie throw out one item a day, and two, not save the good stuff, be it clothes, plates, furniture, expensive

towels or sheets. Our lives are finite: why purchase things with the vague plan of using them “someday”?

To those I’ll add something I try to consciously do in my daily life: people are more important than things, having coffee, lunch, a drink, dinner with a friend beats anything else. One needs to listen to that inner voice and stop and listen when someone needs us.

After all, cleaning just needs re-doing!

Cheers to all and may this decade be your best!

OK where was that list?