Week-end Do's and Don'ts !

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing week-end, but please don't try

this in your garden. This here is easier and far safer !

look what's new!

An Orchid discovered at the annamites mountain range in
Thua Thien Hue province. The world wildlife Fund has announced
the discovery of 11 new animal and plant species in a remote
area of central Vietnam.


White orchids are so beautiful, but can you imagine what a
black one looks like? We think we know it all, and that everything there is to know has already
been discovered, but these pictures just goes to show how wrong we are.


Who can tell just how many worldly secrets are lying safe and soundly
undiscovered from the prying and distroying eyes of mankind !

Just wondering....!

During my last visit to Zürich, I spotted this, and couldn't resist
taking a snapshot of the ARAB BANK IN SWITZERLAND.
If I should suddenly disappear from the blogsphere, please don't be
surprised, because I don't know if I'm stepping on forbidden ground by
saying or asking - "Could it be that Osama Bin Laden has a savings
account here?"

Monday Morning giggle.

A mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along, when all of a sudden, a cat attacks them.
The mother mouse goes, "BARK!" and the cat runs away.
"See?" says the mother mouse to her baby. "Now do you see why it's important to learn a foreign language?"

Showered with beer!

The picture above shows German football trainer
Ottmar Hitzfeld getting showered in beer, but I'm sure this happened
at the end of a successful football match.

At about 4pm this afternoon Mr.CC and I nipped into the super-

market - something I rarely do on a Saturday afternoon.

While we were waiting in the queue, I noticed the beer cans of

the customer standing in front of me, it was labeled IRISH STOUT.

For some unexplained reason I had the feeling that the guy was an

Englishman, because a Swiss citizen will seldom buy any other beer

than beer that is produced here in Switzerland.

He paid for his goods and moved a little away from me to pack his

purchases.

It was my turn to pay - and the next moment I felt an icy spray of

something very wet on my face, T shirt and the entire right side

of my body.

Not realizing that the AAAAH sound of utter disgust came directly

from my very own voice.

There is a saying here, thirst is worst than homesick, but this guy

must have had one helluva thirst because he decided to open a can

of thirst quencher, and heaven only knows what happened - it ended

up all over myself and the cashier.

After the first shock of the wet sticky and cold shower left me

I let him have it in the good English language.

I was pretty cheesed off about the smelly beer that clung to me as if I've

just arrived from a Happy Hour party, and the fact that I still had to

walk home covered in the colour of dark brown.

He apologized and offered to pay for my dry cleaning, but I refused his

kind offer and waved him away.

I really wonder if the dark brown stuff tastes like it smells, but

never mind.

What have I learnt today?

Don't go shopping on a Saturday, and don't ever stand too

close to a customer with a large thirst ! ! !

Look again

This was sent to me by e-mail, and because it's so pretty I
would like to share it with you all.

HAVE A GOOD WEEK-END !!

Sandcastles by the Sea !

Where are the days when we tagged along with
Mom and Dad for a day or perhaps a 3 week holiday down to the
beach ?
I clearly remember the excitement of getting into my swimming
costume and a pair of soft rubber sandals, and of course armed with a
colourful bucket and spade - all rough and ready to build the
largest sandcastle anyone has ever seen!
Oh gone are those carefree days of childhood bliss - collecting
pretty shells or running away as fast as you can because there's a
big wave coming at you.

But just take a look what is done on the beach today !
Can something like this be fun or sheer bliss?
I have seen pictures of people creating the most wonderful
ice sculptures.
Sheer bliss?
I will worry non-stop about my precious sculpture melting away.
Perhaps I'm a worry wart but if I could create sandcastles such as
these, I will worry myself silly about the tide coming in or that some-
one will overlook my work of art and come driving along at breakneck
speed in his beach buggy - and poof, it's all gone!!

But,

No matter what I think or do, just enjoy the pictures because
I do believe this is truly a wonderful work of art ! ! !

Do click on the pics for a much better view,

All Cried Out

I took a fancy to this old dried out fountain when we paid a visit to
the Pumpkin paradise a few Sundays ago, somehow a dried out fountain
can tell a longer story than a splashing one.
This one stands in the rose garden of the Training college/Hotel
just across the street from where we live.
According to the Ivy growth here,this fountain must be standing on the
dry for a number of years.
Click on the pic for a better view, believe me, this is a sight for sore eyes
and a very delightful spot to relax for an hour or so.

WISHING YOU ALL A BLISSFUL WEEK-END ! ! !

Scrap yard Sunday.

What in this world could be worse than going for a Sunday drive - and your
darling little vehicle decides to strike?!!!!
About 30km away from home our car decided to break down - Alternator
problems.
Just as we were driving up a steep hill on a sharp bend, she stopped smack
in the middle of the road.
Mr. CC jumped the battery, and "Bob's your uncle" we were mobile again,
but Bob didn't want to be our uncle, and we no sooner drove out of the little
village and into a rather dark forest when "Madam" decided to strike again.
Once again she received a good "jump" dosage and we were on the
road again! !
This little "Madam" just waited until we were in the middle of a traffic jam
when she decided "It's showtime again!" and striked like a donkey who
needed carrot encouragement.
I have lost count of how many times Mr. CC jumped the battery so we
could be out of the traffic and out of trouble.

To drive from one small town to another usually takes about 15mins.
but the whole palaver took us 2 solid hours of embarrasment
by stopping, pushing the car off the road and jumping the battery to enable
us to get a little forward and to stay out of everyone's way and to get
to the nearest town so we could find some sort of help.

I was totally amazed by the behaviour of our fellow humans.
Instead of offering assistance of any kind, we received a lot of
abusive words coming from passengers sitting safe and snuggly in their
cars.
I have never felt so embarrassed in all my life!
At one stage I was ready to sit in a nearby corn field and sob
my heart out!

After many frustrating hours we reached a larger town and Mr. CC parked
the car in the visitors parking bay, right in front of a large complex.
What a relieve to be safe and soundly out of everyone's hair!
After this major breakdown we sure earned ourselves the grand
title of MENACE ON THE ROAD!

We decide to take the train back home because "Madam was done for the day"

We asked a pedestrian to direct us to the train station, and because we
were sent into the wrong direction, we walked for miles !
Pedestrian N° 2 also sent us up the garden path.
Boots are made for walking and one hour later pedestrian N°3
directed us into the sunset - the train station! ! !

By the time we reached the station, Mother Nature was calling
loudly - I was desperately in need of a Restroom!
The train was on it's way so I made a bee line to the public toilet.
"Sweet Mother of Mercy, tell me this isn't happening! ! !"
The toilet door was locked ! ! !
I spotted a little Restaurant across the street and took off like a
Renegade in search of a bathroom.
The train's on it's way and I've got the Niagra Falls hot on my heels!
Close to tears I shared my dilema with the young waitress and "Please,
it's urgent, may I use your bathroom?"
Cool as a cucumber sandwich she said I can use the bathroom if I will
pay a fee - because I wasn't
a customer !
The shock of being refused entry into the place of relieve, and the
shock of having to cross her palm with silver stalled my urgent
call of nature, and I ran right out of the Restaurant, just in time to get onto
the train that will get me to my safe haven - home!

My horror story ended the moment I found a glorious loo on
many wheels! !



Here a picture of the little monster that turned our Sunday drive into
a nightmare!

Come in or stay out.

When I walked home from town one day, this pretty door caught
my eye, and luckily I had the camera handy. I doubt if any unwanted guest could get through these fancy
burglar bars.

Finding burglar bars in Switzerland is a rare sight, so when I spotted

these, I thought it was worth the shot.

This is another decorative door, far prettier than the pic shows (click

on for a better view, perhaps it will help a little)

I have no idea how old this door could be, but it's definately a re-

stored oldtimer. In Switzerland even doors go for a facelift.

Yahoo! It's Pumpkin time again

It's that time of year again - pumpkin season!
So off we go to the Pumpkin Paradise to bring home a few of
life's goodness.
Strange as it may seem, but the Swiss folk don't show much
interest in the pumpkins in the supermarket - which is a rare sight
on the fruit and veggie shelves in the stores.
For some reason they believe it tastes better when bought at
the Pumpkin Paradise, and I've notice that the Swiss folk don't
know so rightly how to prepare the good pumpkin.
Pumpkin soup is a great favorite, but a cooked slice, not so much! The flower fields were a lot more popular than the pumpkins
today, I think it's great to be able to walk through here, select
the flowers of your choice, and cut as many as you like, then pay the
lady standing at the front entrance to the fields.

This was a very peaceful scenery of a couple of horse riders trotting
along the many many cherry trees.

Fuji was very keen to be free of her leash so she could run and

explore the area. We came across a field of pumpkins which didn't

look very exciting, 'cause the leaves looked all gooey and messy, but

what caught my eye was the colour of these pumpkins - could it be a

pumpkin of a different kind? They're all grey! !

Another favorite among the Swiss people are the decorative pump-

kins - perhaps this is what was growing here.

To my delight I discovered a baby pumpkin - still in diapers (nappies)

Snigger snigger! Poor thing's still got a long way to go (grow)

This is such a pretty place to visit, and if you have the time, you could

stop and collect a couple of wallnuts along the way.

This here is a picture of the city lying right behind us, and I couldn't re-

sist taking the pic - over the mountains in the far background, lies

Germany.

So, now I guess you all know what we'll be munching for the next couple

of weeks - PUMPKINS GALORE! ! !