Bleary-eyed Morning With The Pope

Normally I’m pretty much wide awake after leaving my bedstead. But yesterday it happened. I was making our morning porridge. In order to get SOME taste into this grey concoction I use to add cinnamon and some sugar. That isn’t really tasting so bad. I grabbed the little cinnamon shaker and generously sprinkled it’s content over the porridge. When the sharp smell of pepper reached my nose, I realized I had just messed up an otherwise good porridge breakfast. Next thing I know is that the pope quits. After 600 years he is the first to realize that when the body starts to show incapacitating problems it’s time for retirement. Not too bad. What occupies my mind now is the question whether his Excellency will now revert to be HERR RATZINGER and retire to his home in Germany, or whether he will hang around the Vatican for a while. And believe it or not but there were certain signs……   The German cartoonist Katharina Greve makes calendars with cartoons for every day. For February 10 it shows a cartoon showing the pope checking his Lotto coupon, hitting a full house and thinking “Holt cow, I’m gonna quit tomorrow”. How she ever knew it would really happen nobody knows, especially not Ms. Greve herself as she had made the cartoons for this calendar more than a year ago. Another more scary sign happened in Rome when a lightning hit the top of St.Peters Dome the very same day of the popes announcement. The remaining questions would be; Did that happen 600 years ago as well and was that a prophesy? Guess we won’t know. And it shouldn’t really bother me. I was raised Lutheran. The Pope was of no consequence.   And at last: You might have heard this one, but could it have been Mr. Ratzinger? The Pope goes to New York. He is picked up at the airport by a limousine. He looks at the beautiful car and says to the driver, ''You know, I hardly ever get to drive. Would you please let me?'' The driver is understandably hesistant and says, ''I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm supposed to do that.'' But the pope persists, ''Please?'' The driver finally lets up. ''Oh, all right, I can't really say no to the pope.'' So the pope takes the wheel, and boy, is he a speed demon! He hits the gas and goes around 100 mph in a 45 zone. A policeman notices and pulls him over. The cop walks up and asks the pope to roll down the window. Startled and surprised, the young officer asks the pope to wait a minute. He goes back to his patrol car and radios the chief. Cop: ''Chief, I have a problem.'' Chief: ''What sort of problem?'' Cop: ''Well, you see, I pulled over this guy for driving way over the speed limit but it's someone really important.'' Chief: ''Important like the mayor?'' Cop: ''No, no, much more important than that.'' Chief: ''Important like the governor?'' Cop: ''Wayyyyyy more important than that.'' Chief: ''Like the president?'' Cop: ''More.'' Chief: ''Who's more important than the president?'' Cop: ''I don't know, but he's got the pope DRIVING for him!''   Have a good one and thanks for sparing some time for this.

It Was Time To Take A Trip

With our propane cylinders running low on fuel it was time to take a trip to Yuma. In Yuma propane is $1.69 while dealers in California are asking $2.75 for a gallon. And our van needed a refill of gas as well. So off we went. While I was doing the driving Bea took a few shots of the surroundings. The Imperial Dunes have always been a fascinating landscape to me. And when there are a few clouds around like there was today it makes for an even nicer drive. The dunes are approx. 45 miles long and and 6 miles wide and extend into Mexico. They are mostly used as a recreation area by ATV enthusiasts . And here are the pics. Enjoy!                 Thanks for starting the week with us!

Am I Walking In My Childhood?

The Norwegians have a saying about a person who’s getting a bit senile. They say ”Han går i barndommen”, which means “he walks in his childhood”.  In Norwegian this has the meaning that the person we are talking about is not in possession of all his adult senses anymore. Translating stuff like that is tricky. The intended meaning of it can go lost. Same thing goes for jokes. Rarely, if ever, you can translate a joke. Either because local knowledge is essential to understand it (F.ex. political jokes) or because it is based on a saying or expression. So when I choose this headline I’m not saying that it is time for me to take up residence in a nursing home. Nope! I rather thought of my many memories from my happy childhood in Germany, which formed my customs and habits and my life agenda. Habits? Sure, we all got habits, some good ones and some…well not so good ones. One of those good “habits” is to take in food after a regular daily schedule. I was never a guy who could be satisfied with just coffee in the morning. I always needed a full breakfast. And we always sat down around the table to eat. There was no “on-the run” food. We also ate our main meal at noon and not during some late hour at night or, worse, …in the afternoon. The afternoon held coffee and some pastries for us. And then at 6.30pm we had our evening meal: Dark rye bread sandwiches, with either tea or a glass of milk. And that was the last meal of the day. Even though the contents of these meals have changed (we now eat lunch at 12.00 noon) the times have not. Every day when I came from school, mom had our supper waiting for us. That was at 1.15pm as our school day was over at 1pm. My school route was really short. After supper we did our homework. First after that was done we were allowed to go outside and play. We went to school 6 days a week. We played outside when the weather was good. We did NOT hang out in front of any TV. TV-channels had not yet discovered the kids “market”. Kids TV did not start before 5pm. And hey – it was over one hour later. TV watching did not happen in the summer. First when the winds of fall got too strong and the days were getting shorter we some times “stole” an hour in front of the black/white TV, dad had purchased. So where did we play? And what did we play with? We played mostly in area’s where no houses were build like in nearby woods and wastelands. We rode our bicycles and were together with kids from the neighbors.  We mostly did that every day…and were never bored. We were outside during the winter too, when the sun was shining. We came home cold and tired and loved it. I had good days out there, and not a problem in the whole world. Nobody worked on a Sunday. Dad was home, maybe he had a little project in his cellar (he liked to make wine of berries) or he was just building our first travel trailer. Mom often played the Grand Piano on a Sunday. She was pretty good at that. But I had also “chores”. When big enough I helped mom in the kitchen. I remember I dried the dishes. It was a great time to have a conversation going with mom. I also mowed the lawn for granny…and raked leaves. Grandma and Grandpa lived in the same house. We were all together. So I took a broom and swept the yard. I picked apples and weeded flower beds. I loved that. Grandma rewarded me with my own little garden. I learned where berries and potatoes were coming from. I had them in my own When Grandpa got in his black VW-bug to visit a customer I asked permission to come along. There was nothing better than being on a car ride with him. Later, it led to working with my dad who took over after Grandpa was retired. Of course I did some mischief as well. But mercifully, except for the worst episodes, I have forgotten most of it. And that’s what I mean by “walking in my childhood”. It comes with the age. When we are still young we don’t think of our childhood. There is too much else we are busy with. Thanks for walking along!

Can You Spell C.A.R.R.O.T. ?

The 66th. annual Holtville Carrot Festival In February everything is about carrots. At least here in Holtville,CA. And what would a festival be without a real street parade? The Carrot  parade started at 10.00am and lasted for well 90 minutes. Even though I had seen this parade in previous years it was a lot of fun watching it again. And of course there’s always something new. Nice public turn-out   Even a water fountain was installed here. The reason for having a carrot festival are that all the carrot growers are getting close to the harvest of their carrots. And that should be reason enough to have festival about it. Now, this Harley-Parade would be something for Sassy-Rider. I arrive shortly after 9.30am and find myself a spot along Main Street. It’s a bright sunny day. Yesterday’s wind had almost subsided, (it was actually quiet last night) but it did pick up some speed again during the morning hours and now a cold wind is chasing down the main drag. Just about everybody is dressed in jackets – except me of course. I’m a snowbird and I am in a short sleeves shirt.                                                   Oops…look at those girlies Soon I discover that the guy to my right has a tiny Chihuahua on a leash. The dog is looking at me as if to say “won’t you come play with me?” But my main attention is soon directed to the oncoming parade. I always love to see the old cars in parades. Not all of them show their original design. Many have turned into some fantasy machines. The biggest marching bands are from El Centro and Calexico. They impress by their sheer numbers, shiny costumes and their drill. Next thing I know a couple (Snowbirds?) run across the street and position themselves on my left side. They also have a dog. Some sort of Pu-Shizu-Fricee. Anyway that Chihuahua on my right side is starting to go ballistic. It’s hanging on the end of its leash, yapping, beeping and whining. Whenever I look at it starts on a lap- jump but the leash is too short and it falls back. The people on my left are starting to give leash to their dog. It finds a way under my legs to get closer to the Chihuahua. There it sits only inches from the little Chihuahua. The owner, a woman apologizes to me for the nuisance, but I wave her off. We have a dog ourselves. No sweat! The parade is moving slowly. Float after float, marching band after marching band is getting past me. I have a few people sitting in front of me, so every time I want to take a picture I have to step forward, kinda bending over their heads to get a good shot.                                                                Carrots, carrots…everywhere Good thing I took a little chair with me. Next year YOU need to be here. There’s hundreds of carrot recipes, you can try. Oh, and bring a chair!