The other day, at a book stall at a fair, a fellow author was appalled that I didn’t have a Square to my phone to have potential customers pay with a debit or credit card. Her face fell even more when I told her that I didn’t even have a smart phone. “But you have […]
Across the Fence
Across the Fence: Layer by Layer
Now that the weather is more and more iffy again, we tend to dress ourselves in layers. How convenient to discard one or to don another layer just at a second’s whim. In my mother country it has even received a specific name: Zwiebel-Look (pronounce ‘tsvee-bul-look). Meaning onion look. And indeed, the onion, though so […]
Across the Fence: Alhambra on the Neckar
Remember that I still owe you an article about the Zoological and Botanical Gardens in my German hometown of Stuttgart? Because I had been raving about the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle a while ago, which reminded me of this marvelous institution that was such a great destination during my childhood and teenage years. It […]
Across the Fence: A Time to Write
Have you made your annual Christmas card list already? Don’t think it’s too early for that; because if you are crafting yours and if some of them go overseas, you want to be ahead of the postal cut-off date. But I’m also talking of a different kind writing. Another long winter season lies ahead in […]
Across the Fence: Apple Squeeze
Would you know what day it is, this upcoming Sunday? Yes, October 6, right. It’s also German-American Day, celebrating the first German settlers arriving from Krefeld in the United States in 1683; they founded Germantown, PA, and organized the first petition in the English colonies in 1688 to abolish slavery. But this year it’s also […]
Across the Fence: A True Cowboy Dish
Has it ever occurred to you that food you are used to might look totally different when you order it in Europe? Or you might not even get it? Just mentioning the concept of “biscuit and gravy”, which in England would probably cause your restaurant staff a frown if not an outright “blech”. Because a […]
Across the Fence: Just that Color!
Do you have a place that you have been dreaming of to stand there just once in your life-time? A bucket list of locations? Well, the other day it just happened to me, and I was blown! Actually, I’m still living this moment when I got there, the time I spent there – and it […]
Across the Fence: A FABulous Festival
Do you make the best of what your hometown has to offer? Are you even aware what’s on offer? While you are reading this, one of Lakewood’s most creative festivals is opening its doors again – a festival featuring fantastic fine arts, imaginative authors and their books, and movies that will shape your view of […]
Across the Fence: From Industry to Leisure
Sometimes it takes you a real long time to explore things straight in your backyard. This happens to have been the case with a pretty park none too far from our Lakewood home – the other day, after having lived in the Pacific Northwest almost ten years, we decided to explore Tumwater Falls, close to […]