I love walking the beach searching for the raw material I can use to create one-of-a-kind pendants!
At Work On the Beach
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Category Archives: Travel
Getting Excited, But There are Still Things to Do
I now have my new passport! The old one has been expired for several years, and it feels good to have an active passport again. Besides, this new one looks much nicer--even down to my photograph! Don't think I've ever had a passport photo that looked this good.
Now for the visa and...the dreaded S word...shots....
I'm trying to learn a few words of Dutch since that's the official language of Surinam. That's been interesting...! I do have to say that it's a heck of a lot easier to retain other languages when you're a bit younger. But I do like to know a few words that could prove to be useful before I go to other countries. (I just may have to take a "cheat sheet" though.)
One of the artist prints is almost finished. I am enjoying creating them!
Trying to Learn a bit of Dutch
I’ve been trying to improve on what little Dutch I know, mainly adding to my vocabulary. And I’ve discovered something baffling. Words that have an interesting sound are more likely to be retained. For instance, the word “fietsen” which means to bicycle. Now I don’t plan to bicycle in the rain forest. Or even in the city of Paramaribo, for that matter! And I’m sure I won’t find anything in the old Dutch records of 1699-1701 about bicycling, either. Yet that word clings to my brain while more useful words just slide right off. What’s up with that?
Beautiful Sunset in Memphis
Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt
Last weekend in Columbia, MO, I tried Tiger Ice Cream at MU. It was quite tasty and the scoops were the biggest I’ve seen in awhile.
Last night we went to Andy’s where I had my favorite––a concrete with raspberry topping (which means the topping is all mixed in). Delicious.
But my all time favorite is the ice cream I had in the little town of Wilster, Germany, at the Eiscafe Rialto across from the church. It was a dish called Spaghetti Ice Cream; looked like real spaghetti with tomato sauce! Tasted fantastic! I loved the combination of looks and taste. And if I’m ever back in Hamburg, I will definitely take the train to Wilster for more ice cream at the Eiscafe Rialto.
Waypoint: Murder Published
I have a short mystery story published online in the October issue of Caching Now magazine.
It is the featured story this month.
You can read it here.
Another Chicago Sculpture
Side view of Sculpture
Cloud Gate in Chicago
Cloud Gate, nicknamed The Bean
This piece of sculpture is officially called the Cloud Gate, but has been nicknamed The Bean. It was designed by artist Anish Kapoor and draws thousands of tourists. The reflections in some places are like funhouse mirrors.
Under the Bean
Standing underneath the Bean provides funhouse type views of your reflections.
The last photo is one taken to prove I found the geocache that is there.
Me standing at the Bean
Washing Your Hands?
Old German washstand for washing fingers,
not hands, before eating.
Shown here is one style of what we would call an old washstand. These were used in Germany in the 1600′s for washing your fingers before eating. Yes, I did say fingers instead of hands. You didn’t wash both hands, instead you washed only the first two fingers and thumb of each hand. No housewife wanted to waste water, and the first two fingers and thumb is all you use when eating. (Notice next time you eat…this is true!) And, I’m sure that if you are the one who has to go outside with a bucket, draw the water from a well, and then lug it inside to use, you don’t want to be making a lot of trips to the well.
Pumped for Research
I stepped off the plane at the Frankfurt airport full of eager anticipation. Only two weeks to find out all I could in two cities. Our exchange daughter, Anke, met me at the airport. We dropped my backpack and suitcase at her apartment and she took me on a streetcar-train-walking tour of Frankfurt so I would have a basic idea of how to get where I needed to go. I bought a week’s transportation pass which includes both the streetcar and train.
The next morning Anke went back to work, and armed with a city map and notebook, I set out to find the Römerberg. It took me a couple of minutes to establish just where I was when I arrived streetside from the train (which runs under the city in that area).
The Römerberg. I knew the three buildings comprising the Römer were the old city hall and designated places for official functions in the 1600′s, the time period of my research. Fanning out from the Römer was a large open space, which in earlier times was the main market place and where the twice yearly trade fairs were held. This market area was the Römerberg, very much a misnomer. I laughed when I realized that this slight uphill slant was called a mountain (berg). But it did provide a natural ampitheater for viewing public events.
It was disappointing not to be able to see the exterior of the Römer. The three buildings were covered with scaffolding and some kind of material as some kind of work was being done to them. But there are plenty of pictures in books and on postcards that show the exterior.
Frankfurt is a very modern city. Its skyline is often compared to that of New York City. I knew that the only way I might get a sense of the 1600′s would mostly be in the various museums.
Dauphine Island
I just spent a week on Dauphine Island off the coast of Alabama in the Gulf. I was very curious to know what differences there might be between the Atlantic and the Gulf beaches. I have to say I was very disappointed with the beach on Dauphine Island. It is very narrow; there is a seawall farther out which keeps out the normal waves, so that is not as interesting. There are a number of gas rigs out in the Gulf which means the view is not so great. And there were practically no shells at all, much less in a variety of shapes and colors. What shells there were were white. It was very commercialized with people zipping around in motorboats and those seadoo thingys. Lots of condos and people, not much nature. It’s not for me.
A Ten Sand Dollar Day
This time we picked up the sand dollars right in the water as they were being washed ashore. It looked as if they just glided in underwater. Sometimes they were left on the sand, but other times another wave would take them back out, if you weren’t quick enough in picking them up, that is. We did manage to get ten of them; that beats the previous record of eight. (So, of course we ran into a family who said they found fifty on the beach at Ft. Clinch last April!)
I saw a little whitish shrimpy critter scurrying along the sand at the wave line with a little one hanging on to it. But by the time I got the camera turned on and focused it dived into the sand and disappeared leaving a little hole. Well, now I know what makes all those little holes I’ve been seeing. Must be what the birds go after, too.
And then…as I came even with a group of people looking at what a boy caught while fishing from the beach, I saw that it was a sting ray. It was off the hook and on the sand; the dad pulled it by the long spine back towards the water (apparently it’s a bit heavy) and then tossed it in. It landed upside down so he waded in and turned it over. And with a graceful undulation of its sides it headed for deeper water. The way they move through the water is absolutely beautiful! I had no idea that sting rays were so close to shore, I guess I had just assumed that they were much farther out there.
The ocean is awesome.