Has it struck you, too, that finally days seem to be light longer? Though, in fact they are shorter! Because the dark gray of the past six months has finally started lifting and lets us enjoy a few sunbeams in the late afternoons. Which also means that it finally gets warmer. A little. Yes, summer […]
Across the Fence: Fun on a Budget
Looking into our bank accounts and at the receipts for our expenses on bare necessities has stopped being agreeable a while ago. For some more than others. And as always, I won’t become political about it. Suffice it to say, that these days, I’m lugging home one bag of normal groceries at the same price […]
Across the Fence: Cool German Beverages
Finally, summer seems to have made up its mind to appear – just in time with summer solstice. And, of course, after a winter and spring that lasted a seeming eternity, the abrupt weather change leaves us gasping for what we just left behind: cool and wet. Not necessarily on the outside, but on our […]
Across the Fence: Apples That Are Not
One of my all-time favorite fruits bears a South-American name in my mother tongue – simply meaning “excellent fruit”: Ananas. That is something I just learned – I would have thought it to be a Hawaiian term, as it is associated with the islands in Germany so much. For whatever reason, the English named it […]
Across the Fence: An Oasis of Quiet Beauty
The other day, my husband brought me back to a place I hadn’t seen in a long time. Kind of a secret garden with lots of treasure to discover. Floral treasure, art jewels. A place that is like an oasis close to the center of a busy town. Its entrance is well-marked, yet doesn’t betray […]
Across the Fence: Some Versatile Dough
Submitted by Susanne Bacon. One of the western world’s favorite doughs consists of no more than some unleavened wheat flour, egg(s) and/or water, and a pinch of salt. In Roman literature it has been documented as of the first century A.D. And today, there are around 310 specific shapes it comes in, dried or fresh. […]
Across the Fence: Songs for Messages
Do you know which is one of the longest running TV shows in the world? You probably think of a soap opera. Well, singing has a lot to do with it, though it’s far from an opera. It’s the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which will celebrate its 2022 finale this Saturday, watched by approximately 180 […]
Across the Fence: Island Adventure
It is no secret that my husband and I love to explore wherever we are. But it even happens to us – to “not know” a corner that is directly under our nose. Or hardly know it. We actually have taken a trip to Anderson Island, WA, years and years ago, taken our bikes, and […]
Across the Fence: A Beach Treasure
When traveling towards or from Seattle, my husband and I usually try to change it up a bit by taking backroads. This often involves coastal roads, as far as they are available. One of our favorite stretches is that through Redondo Beach. In the past years we always passed by an aquarium that was closed […]