BLOGAVERSARY

Today Littlegincotree is one year old.

I can't believe how time flies. It feels like only yesterday

when Mr. CC and I filled in all the information to get

a blog on the go.

Before I joined the wonderful world of Bloggyland, I left my

comments to bloggers by signing my name as DRAGONFLY.

What a commotion it was to get my very own blog with that name.

We tried everything possible - but with no such luck, simply

because the Dragonfly was captured by someone else !

Writing on the new blog was a challenge for me, but had great fun

writing about some interesting, weird or funny

subjects, but I have also "met" a whole bunch of very

nice people out there.

I haven't baked a cake for the "birthday child", but there is

a Blackforest ice cream waiting for me to get stuck into, and I'm

licking my lips, so I'll be off for now.

Hasta la vista baby - I'll be back!!

Discovery Lane.

This picture shows a part of our ALTSTADT, the Old Town, which

is not far from where we live, and it is called Nadelberg. The steep hill going down, leads directly into the heart of the city,

from the Nadelberg, only a 7 minute walk.

click on the picture you will see the 3 attic windows and

a small balcony. Those places are known to be very cold during

Winter time, and it also gets extremely hot in the Summer.

On both sides of this narrow little street, you will find all kinds of

gift shops, and because most of these buildings are situated in the

Old City, and most of the buildings are dating back to 1500, rent-

ing an Apartment here will be extremely expensive.

On my way back from a trip into town, I stopped in front of this rather

old and

dilapidated entrance, the gate was open, and that's when I discovered

the beautiful view staring at me - so I walked down the narrow entrance

and into this piece of Heaven. Bold as brass, I walked right through the

gate to have a closer look, and I was thrilled to bits to find a little magic

in the heart of the city.

I have walked past this entrance on many occasions in the past, but

was never tempted to have a closer look, and living in Europe, we are

inclined to bypass most of the sights, which will not be ignored by a tourist.

When I saw the lovely trees and lush plants looking through the

lane, I promised to return

on Sunday, but this time with my camera at hand.

When I walked through the narrow entrance, I noticed that the whole



area was laid out with very old cobble stones.

It was ever so peaceful in here, all I could hear were birds

singing softly in the trees, almost as if they didn't want to

disturb the golden peace and quiet of the day.

A few Apartments nestling in amongst the many trees,

have a closer look, there's even a Fig tree.

Before I took this picture, I just stood there on the cobble

stones admiring this peaceful place. If you click on the pic, you will

see a lamppost, slightly bent, just look at that Virginia creeper, it has

wrapped itself around the entire lamppost.

I would love to live in such a beautiful and peaceful setting, instead of

being bombarded by dirt and dust due to the street works, which will be

our daily aggravation for many more weeks to come.

No Rest for the Wicked

Follow me, and I'll lead you into the street of hell!

Since the beginning of May, this is what we have to put up with.

As soon as the clock strikes 7am every morning, the workmen
are on the go -- doing only their job, but doing a good job

of robbing us of the last nerve in our body.


Thank goodness I'm an early riser, because there's not a

snowball's chance of a little "lie in". By the time these guys

are making a wholesome racket by drilling and digging huge holes

into the road, I'm

awake and having my second cup of early morning coffee.

Anyone who oversleeps will be woken by a wide selection

of street looney's.

Police cars chasing a speeding Ferrari, followed by the chilling
sound of the Ambulance sirens, minutes later we'll be entertained

by no less than 3 very noisy Fire engines speeding by.
Not to mention the Lorries and Trams, yes, they all come out to

play in our crazy street!

There's NEVER a dull moment around here! When in desperate need of

a holiday, the German folk will say "Ich bin reif für die Insel!" and I whole-

heartedly agree "The time has come for my escape to the Island!"

Cats in Charge

What is it about cats?

They have a mind of their own, they're cheeky and can be so moody,

they do as they please, treat us humans as their servants and they

will leave the house and return whenever it suits them and expect

to be served at all hours,as if they're they're living in the Ritz.

Not to mention - they come for a cuddle only when it suits them.

And when it comes to humorous pics - who will be best to pose as

super models? THE CAT!!

Last night I was surfing the net looking for something funny, and found

this.

This is exactly what will happen if the cats were in charge of

Mc Donalds. Fast food will never be the same again! !

Stone Cold Faces

Statues and sculptures can be seen all over our town, some are

really strange and weird looking, but this particular

one brings me to a halt everytime I see it.

It shows 2 figures moulded into 1 very large sculpture.

Hiding right behind this guy, who poses in a rather laid back position,

you will find this very thin and hungry looking man.
I can read his thoughts "Food glorious food, hot sausage & mustard!"



What amuses me about this one is the inscription, it describes the little


boy - FRANZ WILDE born in 1895, as a lazy scholar, instead, he prefers


teaching the dog a trick or two.

This stone sculpture was erected directly after World War 2, and it is

situated in a Park not very far from where we live, and because it is

my personal favorite, I will stop and look at the Lady who should be

stressed out, but instead, she has the look of serenity on her face.

For an even better view, don't forget to click on the pic.

You don't want to...............!

In our town there are trams going everywhere, and what I

appreciate most of all is the fact that we don't have to wait very

long for one to arrive.

If you happen to miss a tram, no problem, the next one's already on it's

way.

What really frightens the living daylights outta me is the way our town

folk will run at breakneck speed not to miss the tram, and often

enough we will see on tv or read in the newspaper that yet another

person - young or old - was knocked down, dragged along by

the tram, and died due to his/her hasty behaviour.

As we're having a public holiday tomorrow, I have decided to

take a walk downtown for a little shopping spree.

When I left home this morning the weather was nice and mellow, but later

it turned out a little weepy, and as I didn't have my brolly with me, I decided

to let the tram take me home.(( The picture shows the exact spot where I

will get the "car" to take me home, this is also the spot where the accident

happened.))

I paid for my tram ticket and stood waiting, I was in luck because the N° 3

was heading my way. Seconds before the tram stopped, a young woman

comes running across the street, about 1 meter away from where I was

standing, she tripped on the road and she went down!!

The tram driver slammed the brakes on - but there's no stopping

such a huge green monster in good time, and the woman was al-

ready lying on the ground.

People were yelling and screaming with fright and panic!.

At that moment I think I must have turned to stone.

I kept on mumbling "Oh my God no, oh my God no!"

The young woman was lying motionless under the tram!

That's when I took flight

I received a bolt of energy and started running up this hill, all I wanted

to do was get away from the terrible accident.

When I came to a halt at the top of the steep hill, I was crying shamelessly!

Luckily I came across a water fountain (one of many in our town) where

I could revive myself, I was in a shocking state and was desperate to get

myself together again.

LIFE IS PRECIOUS, YOU DON'T WANT TO END UP UNDER

A TRAM! !

Meet the Gincos.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunshine day on Sunday (Mother's Day),

raising the temperatures to a whopping 27°C.

When poor ol' Fuji waddles along and almost trips over

her tongue that hangs straight down to the ground, I just

know it's gonna be a hot one!

At about 4pm we took a couple of pics, but the sunlight was still

shining so brightly, that most of our photos almost turned out to be a

near disaster and leaving us with nothing but a blurr.

I think it's high time to invest in a new camera - as we all know, we

can never recapture that special moment to take that special photograph.

Here's my forever clowning around Girl-child (in white) and yours

humbly and sincerly Gincoleaves.

Mother and daughter, but still non the wiser that we almost

didn't get a picture , due to the bright background light.
A rather hazy shot of Girl-child and Mr. CC.

If my Son was around (he lives in South Africa) it would have been
a completed group picture of the whole clan.

Happy Mothers Day

Wishing all the Mommy's a very

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY ! !

Try this!

Last week I discovered this video, so I saved it as
a little Friday fun post.
Go on everyone, give it a try!
Please let me know if you have managed to get this
shoelace trick right - I am still trying!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK - END EVERYONE ! ! !

tying shoelace

Let me take you through the streets......

On Saturday it rained non-stop - the first rainfall since our early spring
made it's welcome
appearance, but when I woke up early this morning, the sky was blue
and the day looked promising, so we decided to take a trip into town and
see what's new - through the eye of the camera.
I love a trip downtown during the week, but believe me, that's just when
I'll see something blog worthy, and the camera is sitting snugly at home.
This is Bärfusser platz (barefoot place) in the heart of town
If you click on the pic you will see the old artwork on
the walls of the building in the center of the photo.

Some more artwork, but this one is my favorite. I think this could have been

food store once apon a very long time ago.
Note the writing on the wall --
coffee, tea and sugar, right above the old clock. But today there are people
living in those appartments - and I do believe they're paying an arm and a
leg on rental, or, perhaps a well to do Swiss bought the whole block.

Whatever is an icy picture doing here on a beautiful day such as today?
This is what the fountains below look like during the Winter time. It's
a sight for sore eyes, and this will happen every year - even if the temps
don't reach freezing point. This is only a postcard picture, but I will be
back with icy pictures of my own when Father Frost comes to town again.



These are the most unusual (and ugly) fountains I've ever seen, created
by an artist called Jean Tinguely, but there must be something magical about
these strange looking creatures, because people come from far to see the
Tinguely fountains and the Tinguely museum.




Well, the sightseeing trip to town is over (for now) and this is the
road that takes me back home, it's a pleasant 12 minute walk,
or if I'm tired of trekking through the town, I can hop on the next tram
which goes up the steep hill and takes me home.
The brown building in the center of the road is a High school for girls
only. The building directly behind Mc Donalds, was a prison, but now no
more. The building has received a facelift and will no longer hold you
prison, but will keep you entertained for many hours on end by local
and international musicians.

HELLO AGAIN

EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN.


Lets just say I've joined a group of Polar expeditioners and
launched off into the unknown.
I encountered a level of bleakness unmatched anywhere in
the world.
Somewhere in the icy wilderness of the North Pole, I lost
contact with the group and I'm still trying to find my way back
into the warm comfort of my everyday life!!
The truth of the matter is, Mr. CC underwent successful
triple coronary artery bypass surgery.
He's doing very well and is on the mend.
Although I'm slowly finding my way back to normality,
I am still feeling numb from the shock of it all.

We were all taken completely by surprise last year - shortly be-
fore Xmas when Mr.CC ended up in the Intensive Care Unit.
Since that fateful day we've known nothing but fear and anxiety,
but 5 months later we can breathe freely again, because we are
home and dry.