I Spy With My Little Eye!

This is only one of the many old mansions here in

Switzerland, owned by rich and influencial

people - once apon a very long time.

These people are all gone now, and most of these mansions

are now occupied by offices and Dentist's or Doctor's rooms.

This particular old house is situated just around the corner

from where we live, and I will pass it everyday when I take Fuji

for her daily exercise.

I took this picture 3 weeks ago when the trees were still

covered in leaves. There is a grapevine growing over the

white wall, but above that is a quince tree which caught

my eye - click on the pic to see the quinces hanging from

the tree. Last Friday I walked passed this old house again and I saw

something against the wall of the house - looking directly

your way - a beautiful sun face, not a colourful work of art,

but made only of cement or something other.

This morning I walked passed the old house again, and I

thought to myself "Now don't forget to write something

about this, you've got the pictures all ready to go!"

I turned around to have another look - that's when I saw 2

half moon faces just below the sun face.

I will have another look tomorrow and next week, perhaps I will

discover something else I've overlooked about this house.

Baby's Back !

I doubt if Santa Claus can make me as happy as
Mr. CC did today when he walked through the front door
with my computer clutched tightly under his arm and the
modem lying safe and sound in a shopping bag.
The computer consultant was convinced we have
faulty plugs and cables - so the whole bangshoot was taken
in for a double check. If we have faulty plugs and cables, how
could I work with the standby Dell?
I still don't know what the problem was, I'm just glad I've got
my baby back!

It's way after 1 am, and now I must make tracks and go to bed.
Good night and sleep tight.

Are You Quilty?

You have an Internet addiction when.......

Your eyeglasses have a website burned in on them.

Even your nightdreams are in HTML

You turn off your modem and get this awful feeling, like you
just pulled the plug on a loved one.

You refer to going to the bathroom as downloading.

Your heart races faster and beats irregularly each time you
see a new WWW site address in print or on tv, even though
you've never had heart problems.

You turn on your intercom when leaving the room so you can hear
if new e-mail arrives.

You code your homework in HTML and give your instructor
the URL.

You wake up at 3 am. to go to the bathroom and stop and check
your e-mail on the way back to bed.

You buy a Captain Kirk chair with a built in keyboard and mouse.

Your wife makes a new rule: "The computer cannot come to bed!"

You ask a plumber how much it would cost to replace the chair in front
of your computer with a toilet.

Your wife says communication is important in a marriage..... so you
buy another computer and install a second phone line so the two of you
can chat.
* * * * * * * * * *
This reminds me of my computer situation:
A snail was slithering up a cherry tree at the end of Winter.
A chipmunk came by and said "There are no cherries on the
tree yet!"
The snail said, "They will be when I get there."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's a Cruel Cruel world!

As seen in our local newspaper.
TALLAHASSEE USA

A young woman was found inside a home she
shared with relatives who had spent nearly 2
weeks looking for her.

Her family thought she's been kidnapped and
contacted the police.

Family members scoured her room for clues
but found nothing, though they did notice a
strange smell.

Her body was found inside the house behind a
bookcase - 11 days later - and it's believed
that she fell over as she tried to adjust the plug
of the TV situated behind the bookshelf!

This is indeed a very tragic accident!
So every now and again people go missing in
Germany - sometimes for as long as a year,
simply without a trace AND no-one bothers to look
for them or report them as missing.
On many of these sad and unbelievable occasions
when the Apartment Agency decides to investigate
why no rent's been paid for a number of months, they
will discover a body sitting or lying on the couch in
the living room, with only a newspaper leaving a clue
and indicating the date of death.
I don't want to think what our Agency will do if and
when we'd "skip" a single payment - I'm convinced
they'd be outside our front door , boots and all - let
alone wait for as long as a whole year!!

It's not only hard to believe, but indeed very frightening to
think this sort of thing is happening all around us - even
in this day and age!!!

Old Faithful!

No, I'm not refering to my faithful dog here, I'm talking about my old

reliable DELL "boy" PC!

The new modem is working like a charm, but the computer is

acting real strange !

The computer consultant is off duty on Mondays, but he will

have a serious look into the computer innards tomorrow.

I won't be able to download pics on this oldtimer, and I'm not

complaining either, I'm just so pleased to have a standby that

enables me to "visit" everyone in Bloggerville.

So, in the meantime I'll enjoy what I have and chill out like this little

wrinkly dog in the picture (a pic I saved on Blogger.com some

weeks ago)

Comfort tart while PC is getting a telling off!

Something isn't Kocher with my PC and it's doing my head in.
On Saturday morning I switched on - and after all the commotion
of the past week, I expected to go on-line, but once again
there was a problem, so I had to sit tight until Mr. CC got
back from work to see what could be done. Eventually I
managed to go on-line, and place a few comments on
various blogs, but on Sunday morning, the old problem of not
going on-line was back.
This is worse than having toothache, it comes and goes!

After lunch we took the dog for a walk and then the battle
with the PC started again. So while Mr. CC was tinkering around
I decided to bake an Apple crumble tart.
I've had this recipe for a number of years now,
it's a quick and easy tart to make and it's also the very own
version of Mrs. Barbara Bush (Mother of US president George
W. Bush)

Here is Fuji waiting for the next lick of whipped cream (click on
to see the cream on her snout )

APPLE & ALMOND CRUMBLE TART

75gr margarine

150gr flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

100gr sugar

salt

2ml ground cinnamon

1ml ground nutmeg

4 or 5 large apples - peeled and cut into slices

Cook the cut apples and add the spices - I like to add about

1 tablespoon honey to the apples and a little vanilla essence.

In a seperate bowl combine flour, sugar, spices and the baking

powder.

Cut the margarine into this mixture till crumbly.

Mound cooked apples in a greased pie plate.

Sprinkle the flour & margarine mixture over the apples.

Sprinkle chopped almonds over the top and bake in a preheated

oven, 170°C untill golden brown.

Serve warm with cream!

Hooo, I won't be looking at supper tonight.

Enjoy!!!!

Disaster Area!!

This is what my peaceful little computer corner looked like since the
beginning of the week.

I doubt if anyone will believe the ridiculous and confusing story
that happened to us the last few days.

Since last Sunday I've had problems going on-line, after a 5 hour
battle, I finally managed to post my last entry, and on
Monday morning the computer was as dead as a Dodo!

When we finally discovered that the trouble-shooter was the
MODEM - the problems and confusion only started.

We bought a new Modem and installed it - only to find that the
blistering thing was defect.

The kaput Modem was taken back to the hardware store, situated
on the other side of town, and new Modem No. 2 was brought home
to be installed - will anyone believe me when I tell you that Modem
No. 2 was ALSO defect?! I AM NOT KIDDING!!!

So the following day the broken thing was taken back to the shop to
be replaced - ONCE AGAIN.

The nit-wit salesman REFUSED to except a defect Modem - would
you believe this?
When Mr.CC opened the box to remove the Modem, there was also a
small white box inside - containing a cable, but because the little
white box was slightly ripped or torn by Mr. CC, our nit-wit salesman
refused to exchanged the modem.
A little white box - 3inch x 4inch!

I am so sorry I wasn't there in the shop at the time because I would
have wrapped the little white box around the bloke's ears!
I'm getting mad all over just writing this stupid story.

When things like this happen , I ask myself "Where the bleeding
hell am I actually living, at the foot of the Himalayas?!"

I'm posting a picture of my disaster corner, because we were told
that we might have a problem with the cables or plugs.
Everything was checked and re - checked, there wasn't a
problem with neither cables nor the plugs.
A few months ago I wrote the story about exchanging a 6 week old
(brand new computer) also defect - but because we destroyed the box
containing the new computer, we had to pay a chilly 100.00 Swiss Frank "fine"
before we could exchange the defect computer - is this for real?? Oh yes it is, if
you're living in the wonderful land of chocolates and cheese!!
I'm spitting mad about all of this, but I'm very pleased to be on-line
again.

Ginco Versus Jamie Oliver

On Friday evening the British chef Jamie Oliver made his

appearance on the tv screen, I was just about to switch channels

when I heard him saying that he will be cooking up a storm for

one of

my favorite singers *Jamiroquai* - I stayed tuned to the BBC.

Jamie's not one of my favorite chefs', wow, just looking at his

antics in the kitchen makes me wanna run after him and clean

up the merry mess he leaves behind him - the kid is a slob!

I know! I know! Everybody loves the "Naked Chef" but he's no

fan of mine!

I'm not a whiz in the kitchen, quite frankly - I hate to cook!!

One spends so much time slaving over the hot stove - and when

all the cooking is completed, the food will be eaten within 15 min.

With pleasure, I will watch *Gary Rhodes* or *Ainsley Harriot*

doing "their thing" in the kitchen, these guys are awe-inspiring!

Even *Delia Smith* is another one of my favorite people - in

fact I will be baking one of her Christmas cakes very soon!

BUT

Back to the messy boy in the kitchen, among a few other

things, he prepared a couple of filled and baked onions in the

singer's house.

I have never baked filled onions before, so

I sat watching the "kid" in action.

For Sunday lunch today I've cooked a roast chicken with

Basmati rice and the last of the Butternut pumpkin bought

at the pumpkin paradise - including Jamie's filled onions.

The filling was very good, but the next time I prepare

this recipe, I will make a few changes - because the onions

were just a little on the hard side.

Here is a pic of the prepared onions - minutes before going

into the oven.

Here it's baked, and ready to eat.

Recipe for two persons

--------------------------- Jamie's filled Onions

------------------------

2 large white onions, cooked in boiling water for 15mins.

Remove, and leave to cool.

When onions are cooked, cut into the center and leave an

opening deep enough for the filling.

Use the cut out onion pieces as part of your filling.

Cut 2 mushrooms in small pieces.

Cut 3 or 4 streaks of bacon into small pieces

2 or 3 heaped teaspoons of creme fraise or double cream.

Grate a handful of strong cheese

Salt & pepper and mixed spices (Basil & Rosemary)

Blend together the onion pieces, chopped mushrooms, bacon

grated cheese, creme fraise and spices.

Spoon as much of the filling as you can into the center of the

onions, add a little extra grated cheese over the top, and

bake at 180°C for 30/35 minutes until golden brown.

I will bake the onions for a further 15/20 minutes in the

oven before adding the filling, and then back into the oven -

your onions will be soft and tender - for sure!!

Wishing you all a wonderful Friday.

Too often we don't realize

what we have until it is gone

Too often we wait too late to say

"I'm sorry - I was wrong"

Sometimes it seems we hurt the ones

we hold dearest to our hearts;

and we allow foolish things

to tear our lives apart.

Far too many times we let

unimportant things into our minds;

and when it's usually too late

to see what made us blind.

So be sure that you let people know

how much they mean to you.

Take the time to say the words

before your time is through.

Be sure that you appreciate

everything you've got;

and be thankful for the little things

in life that mean a lot.

Life has a way of passing us by

and we have a way of forgetting to say "Hi".

Not realizing that so much time has passed.

Not knowing when we talked last.

HAVE A WONDERFUL FRIDAY!

Girl-child Cake and Chutney!

Almost two week-ends ago Girl-child came to visit us and she stayed
the following Monday as well, she started a course on Tuesday so she
had to be back home ( Zürich) by Monday evening.

Before she arrived here, I baked a cake and decorated it with pink icing
and toasted coconut over the top.
A picture and the recipe of this cake was posted on Fink's blog, baked by
his girlfriend (Flyingpops) during halloween - she decorated her cake with

green icing, but because halloween has gone with the pumpkins, I've made

a pink one for our visitor.

When Girl-child saw this cake she simply couldn't stop munching!!
She was eating cake like no tomorrow, every time I looked, she was cutt-

ing another slice and another....!
I had no objection to her swinging the cake knife - she could do with a few
extra kilos on her ribs, but by supper time - you've guessed it - she
wasn't hungry!!

The * Flyingpops cake * was a hit!! In fact it was such a success
I never got half the chance to take a picture to show you what
it looked like - the plate contained only pink crumbs and the remains
of toasted coconut.

On one or two occasions I have blogged about a few food items which is
unobtainable here in Switzerland, but, I have been very fortunate to
find many of the well known South African goodies in good ol' Germany.
On many trips to Germany I have searched and asked shop assistants

for the where abouts of Chutney - to no avail!!


We didn't do much food shopping on that particular Saturday, but when
Girl-child spotted a brightly- lit shop in one of the Malls, she wanted to have
a little sneak peek - so in we marched.

We looked at various articles on the many shelves, and while she stopped
to discuss something or other with her Dad, I quietly disappeared into
another direction.

I wasn't on my own for very long when I heard Girl-child's voice
saying to me "Mom, look what I've just found, did you know they sell
CHUTNEY here?"
At that moment I did not only hear the word CHUTNEY, I also

heard the sound of sweet violins.

Whoever reads this story will surely think or say "Is this woman re-
lated to wacko Jacko? " Who likes Chutney anyway!" or "What's the
big deal about Chutney!"
BUT,
I dearly love and miss the food I'm accustomed to, and I can't except

the fact of NOT finding a basket full of my favorite things!!

But my Saturday was GOLDEN, and I was quite prepared to go home
knowing I will be transporting precious cargo!!
Girl-child and Chutney!

Hallo Again!

Good morning everyone, I'm home and dry again!

It would have been a Royal treat to be driven back

to Bloggerville in this stretch Limousine, but unfortunately

the driver of the Limo refused to brave the pouring rain and

the Highway to Hell.

I must apologize for the poor quality of this picture, but

with so much rain, it's no wonder everything is just one blur.

Much later that evening we took the road that leads us home,

and I was amazed at the suicidal behaviour of many motorists

on the Highway.

For crying out aloud, why are people so downright irresponsible?

Motorists were literally flying across the Highway, overtaking

cars at breakneck speed and others were weaving through the

heavy traffic like basket weavers.

It baffles me how anyone could see the road ahead, with

a heavy rainfall almost blinding your vision, even though the

windscreen wipers were doing overtime!

It was a * Nightmare on Elm street * trip that lasted just

over an hour, but I was ever so pleased to arrive home

safely and soundly!!

Have a swinging Friday!!

Just a pit-stop to say hallo, and

here's a happy song to see you through the Friday, but

please keep a close eye on the little dog! He's full of the joys of Spring.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I have.

I wonder where can I find an entertaining dog like this!!

See you all next week!

See ya'll Around

My girl-child will be spending the week-end with us, and there will be so

much chin wagging, blogging will be out of the question.

Mr. CC is on vacation for one week - the last before the festive season.

I have no idea what we'll be up to - we'll just go with the flow!

On Tuesday we'll be celebrating another anniversary, and I haven't a

clue what my better half has up his sleeve for the occasion.

IF and WHEN I get the opportunity, I will be lurking like a rat in

and around a few blogs to see what's happening in Bloggerville!

See you all !!!

Lucky Friday

Many South Africans will recognize this photograph, but because
it's so cheeky I'm using it on my blog today.

You are a South African bush pilot, you fly in some medical
supplies, enjoy a quick lunch at the hospital.
It's a stifling 100degrees in the shade and you're eager to get back
up to the cool, high blue yonder.
On the way back to your plane, you discover that the only bit of
shade within 1 mile has become very popular....... you start
calculating the distance to the plane door and wonder.........
Do I feel Lucky Today?!!!!!
I wish you all a lucky Friday!!!

Is Switzerland Game for a Laugh?

Der Lachkönig (the laughing King) German born Dr. Roland Schutzbach is a man on a mission , to find
Swizerland's funny bone!

He says "The Swiss have a lot of humour, but they don't really

laugh so loudly - it is a special kind of humour. That's why I would

somehow like to give them the gift of laughter!"

A doctor of philosophy and former steiner school teacher, Schutzbach

is no circus clown.

Admittedly, he packs an outrageous over-sized polka dot bow tie

and has been known to slip on the odd red nose to tickle his

charges' ribs, but amid all the tomfoolery and gags there is serious

work going on!

"We get people who have problems, people who don't seem to have

problems, and all kinds of people who are interested in laughter and

who wants to lead a happier life" he told Swissinfo.

"I'm somehow teaching them to lead a life of joy, however, it's

not me who makes them laugh, it is their own inner process and some

people are not ready!"

Schutzbach also claims to have been heavilly influenced by

Bombay's Dr. Madan Kataria, who founded hundreds of

laughter clubs in India.

"I have started a whole laughter campaign for Switzerland

and we're staging a Laughter Week from Aug. 17-26" he told

Swissinfo.

"I want to help the Swiss people to be more joyful!"

He will be making his appearance here again by next Wed-

nesday - 12 noon.

Come Hell or highwater, I'll be there, and inbetween fits of

laughter, I'll be checking out the area.

All I can say to this is "Bring in the Germans!"

Pleased to Meet You Birdie.

A multicoloured bird with reddish-brown and black eyes has
been discovered as a new species in a Colombian cloud
forest accessible only by helicopter, scientists say.

Discovery of the bird named after an Indian tribe that once
lived in the nature reserve where it was found was published
in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club.

Legend has it that the Yariguies tribe commited suicide to
avoid enslavement by Spanish.

Our planet holds many secrets and mysteries, but I have
often wondered how many species of wild Fauna and Flora
are just waiting to be discovered.

But you must agree with me, this little bird is a
true beauty.