Since this has been the darkest winter in Central Europe for many, many years, I can’t wait till spring starts. It’s not the low temperatures or the regular sleet that bother me, it’s the lack of light. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered the first harbingers of spring next to my terrace today! Aren’t they pretty?
- Rike Horstmann
One sure sign of spring for me is the fact that all of a sudden I don’t just walk by shop windows (which have been decorated in bright colors for more than a month now), I actually look at them to gauge what will be in fashion this spring and summer and what of that might actually suit me.
Another sign is shopping on the spur of a moment. (more…)
I saw them! Yesterday I took a brief walk at lunch in the cold and rain and saw them; tiny little crocus shoots. Finally!
Yes, it’s nearly May, and it’s still freezing cold in much of the northern United States. Well, maybe not technically freezing, but believe me, going for walks when it’s windy, rainy, and 40 degrees out isn’t a lot of fun. (more…)
Yesterday I visited the Bundesgartenschau in Koblenz. Koblenz is a lovely city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, and Bundesgartenschau can be translated as National Garden Show. There are three venues across the town: one around a palace, the other around an ancient church, and the third inside a huge castle on top of a hill. There are big formal gardens and small designer gardens, and lots and lots of information – too much to take it in really, but hugely enjoyable nevertheless. (more…)
Every year, some time before Easter my husband begins to grumble that we do not have any Easter decorations out yet. I suggest he take care of it; he grumbles some more that we should do it together. So out the colored eggs and wooden bunnies come, and once the decorations are finished, I quite like them. I just feel no urge whatsoever to initiate the decorating. (more…)
For my trip to England later this month, I find myself in need of a coat. I got a lovely weatherproof, knee-length quilted coat which I wear on my bike all winter, but alas this will probably, hopefully be far too warm for late April in Cornwall. So now I am looking for a knee-length weatherproof coat that is thinner without being downright flimsy, perfect for spring and autumn, and those really rainy, cold summer days. (more…)
The past few days we’ve had a bit of a reprieve from a long, fairly brutal winter. Suddenly, the skies were clear and beautifully blue, allowing the sun to shine down all day. And not only did the temperatures rise above freezing, they were actually in the 50s, which meant that coats came off, and for some (not me), flip flops were donned. While I know it’s going to turn colder again later this weekend, for now, I’m just enjoying this respite, and am thinking about all of the things I like to do once spring finally arrives. (more…)
I discovered today that the charming German word Ohrwurm – a tune you just can’t get out of your head and you find yourself humming despite yourself – is making its way into the English language as earworm.
I have an earworm today, and it’s The Girl from Ipanema. I found myself humming it, not having heard it on the radio before, and I asked myself: why this song? (Often with earworms, there is something in the lyrics that makes my subconscious dig it up.) (more…)
Lilies are strikingly gorgeous, roses and lilacs smell divine, and I love the sight of a carpet of bluebells. However, when I see the tulips in bloom, something about them just screams, “Spring is REALLY here!” I’m starting to see tulips blooming all around me now, and it makes me very happy.
With all the recent snow, my bike spent more than two months hibernating in the carport. Now that even the last icy drifts are gone here, this morning I took it out again. I’m telling you, this was my first true spring moment this year. There I was on my faithful Drahtesel (wire donkey), hightailing it down the hill on my way to work. There was wind in my hair (the part that was protruding from my cap), I was dodging pedestrians and sticking my left hand out widely to indicate to drivers I was not leaving the roundabout just yet, thankyouverymuch. When I arrived at my workplace, my face was flushed both from the cold air and from exertion, and I was wide awake and ready to face the day. (more…)
