Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
HAPPRY RAT SPRING 2008
Welcome to Spring, well officially anyway. It is Spring to me when the first Snowdrops appear in early January. Now there are all of the Spring bubls out.
My dragon boat team has been going out on Wednesday nights and how nice it has been on clear nights to look up and see the stars and look back at the lights of the island. We may be able to see our breath, but we are ever warm from the energy we extert out there.
My family celebrates Easter this week-end. An North European custom is that one gets a new suit of clothes to wear...well i like that one very much and a new Easter Sunday new hat to wear to church too. I am still not near my fat-loss ideal weight yet, so i don't want to buy more than one outfit anyway. My fellow friends with Diabetes have the same problem with weight gain. Oma says the only way to deal with this is to get a zipper for one's mouth....LOL My latest readings suggest more fiber, more fiber. Ian says that i need to climb stairs a couple of times a day. I do try, but the medications that i take add bulk to my small frame too. And i adore my food and wine so much!!!!!!!! Ray suggests that i drink more coffee to increase my slow metabolism !!! That might be the best idea so far...painless and so enjoyable, especially when he makes me a cup with his new Italian coffee maker and serves it from his new/antique French hand-painted cups.
The International Wine Festival in Vancouver was a treat for me. I mainly tasted Sparkling wines and a few highly rated Italian reds. I met the two leading Marchesi wine growers and enjoyed my chats with them, with a promise that i would visit thier wineyards soon.
Mischi and Bling are sheading more hair now and i brush and comb them a couple of times a day. They enjoy sitting out in the sun now.
I was asked to enter 3 haiku in an Italian contest, but i could not find a friend to translate them into italian properly using 5-7-5 on time.
Here they are:
A blue snow and sky
the morning rays of sun caught
in an icy web
I did the above after seeing Ottmar Libert's blog where he had posted one of his photos of an icy Santa Fe morning.
A grey sea and sky
blue irises turn violet
in the deep night
Above the cedars
a Mother eagle hovers
scent of herring
A few others:
A full face tonight
the female patient prays
her womb still empty
Winter day
an inch of new growth
in the snow
The dragon boaters
watch the eagles mate
Spring sunshine
On the dead tree
8 eagle sit and wait
a smell of herring
Many fishing boats are now in the harbour and the odour of fresh herring pervades the bay.
Greetings from my island home
Happy Spring to you
Angelika
Thursday, February 7, 2008
YEAR OF THE RAT
Today is the start of The Rat year, 4706.
I was born in a Rat Year.
I have most of the good and not so good aspects. Some good ones are: charming, passionate, practical, hardworking, intelligent, quick witted, well yes i liek tot hink i have these. Not so good are: greedy, miserly, secretive. But it says i will give all to those i love, yes that is true. Especially Monkey or Dragon peple with blue irises, and of course Rat persons with dark eyes like mine!!
Oma will call soon and tell me the never-ending story of my birth. The Baltic was pounding at the house, there were no lights, no power. I was born in candle light. At day break my Mother saw me for the first time. A wild Viking scream filled the room. What is that, take IT away, she yelled. Well, i was covered in balck hair, had black darting eyes. Yes, i looked like a rat. Every morning the midwife would find a rat curled up with me in my cradle. They could not keep it away, well they brough in a huge cat and that was the end of the poor, wee rat. All of this is the truth!!!
My family will go out for a Chinese meal today. i am the only single person, so i will get more of the "Lucky Money" red envelopes. Greedy old me!!!!
It is traditional in China to buy new shoes and clothes, and get a haircut. I will do all that today. Chinese Wu clan colours are red and black, as are the First Nations clans here on the island. My artist friend Sandra designs wonderful First Nations capes in those colours. There is a Red night at the art gallery. I have given them Sandra, HER art and MY haiku cards to display.
Perhaps someone will buy some....greedy again!!!
Some haiku and tanka
Free form, not 5-7-5 or 5-7-5-7-7...just too lazy this morning.
Wild Baltic night
the baby covered in hair
a woman's screamm
A Rat-woman
searching for a Dragon-man
must have blue irises
Chinese New Year
red packets of money
on her door-step
she rushes to the mall
and calls her hairdresser
Her beloved cats
born in the
Dragon, Monkey and Rat years
Have a wonderful Rat year.
Mozart and Shakespear were Rat persons, no wonder i love them so much!!!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
CARNIVAL TIME
It is Carnival time and today is the last day. Shrove Tuesday is always fun...all those big, fat pancakes with maple syrup here in Canada. Here on the island not much is realy going on. I will make pancakes for myself, Mischi and Bling. I have a mask i made last year.
I heard that a man in Rio fell under a foat and died. All that crowing adn drinking, well the poor man had fun until the last moment of his life. My prayers go out to his family and friends. "Moderation in all things" is not in affect during Carnival.
My Nordic Uncle went to Carnival in Southern Germany, when he was young and did not return until the Summer.
Shrove Tuesday
pancake after pancake
scent of maple syrup
Carnival floats
song, dance and beads
rainbow on her neck
Behind her mask
her brown eyes blue
Carnival magic
Grey sea and sky
rain on the cedars
on the intenet
Carnival in Rio
colour, music and Samba
Thursday, January 3, 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE RAT 2008
I am keeping the 12 days of Christmas, so my decorations will stay up until January 6. My NOBO haiku group has exchanged the Japanese traditional greeting card (Nengaijyou). about 60 of us have done this. There is wonderful creativity in these cards. Some are hand-made and all have a New Year haiku on them together with the Japanese New Year greeting (*Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu*) It is great fun to receive these cards each morning. We are an international group of haiku poets and the stamps alone are wondeful. I have been a member of NOBO ( Shiki) since 2000 and have made some dear friends during these past 7 years. The old Shiki and the current NOBO haiku are kept on-line, so it is nice to see them for the last 7 years. The on-line data base is housed in Japan. Do have a look. This is the YEAR of the Rat. I was born in a Rat year, so this year will be special for me!!!! I wish you all a wonderful year, especially my Rat friends!!!! My New Year haiku I sent this one to all NOBO memebers: Midnight bells Rat chases Pig into the night I woke up to the sound of power saws yesterday. The city workers were sawing down two wonderful, old Weeping Wilow trees. I was very destressed. These were wonderful tress with a bench under one of them that i sit on and look out over the sea very often. I will call the city to see why this was done as soon as thier office opens today. Chinese New Year starts on February 7. I always take my family for a Chinese buffet on that day. Weeping willow trees only stumps remain sound of saws The Wheeping willow she sits under it as her tears fall Danish Christmas dinner -- the smell of red cabbage and a fat goose rice pudding with cherry sauce fat marzipan pig prize At 12:01 he sits in last year's bath water
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