mourning and dismay...

Shocking events at KONINGINNEDAG...

It should have been a shining party!

It should have been only laughter and joy!

It should have been an unforgettable event!

It should have been a day of love, union and pride!

One man decided to hurt people!

WHY?

WHAT

was it

that brought this man to a point in his life

where he stopped caring about the precious lifes of others?

4 dead.

Many hurt!

More wounded!

A nation in shock!

It takes a while until you realize that what you just saw on TV is reality.

Human bodies flying through the air.

Laughter changes to horror in a split second.

Some start running, screaming.

Others are paralysed.

YES,

it happens all the time,

all over the world.

People kill people.

But every life lost is one too much!!!

Lifes are so fragile.

We are fragile.

I am fragile.

Everything around us is fragile.

That is why we have to be

EVEN MORE

compassionate,

understanding,

loving,

caring,

mindful.

With our children, neighbour, animals, strangers... ANYONE!

In every situation, with everyone and everything.

We don't have to agree with everyone, like everyone.

BUT

we have to treat each other well at all times.

Life is fragile.

*

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/30/netherlands.queen.car/index.html

Koninginnedag

Hasi is dutch, so for her today is a very special day.

It's KONINGINNEDAG today in Holland,

the day where the Queen,

her family and the entire country celebrates her birthday.

Well, it's not her actual birthday today,

but the day where Holland celebrates the

"Queens Day".

It's a day where the dutch people get to see the entire royal Family out in public.

Every year they visit a different city and the city organizes a big party for them.

Hasi will watch it on TV.

I wish I could watch too, but I have a doctors appointment...

At the party the members of the royal family get to see art performances,

traditional customs that are typical for that part of the country,

they are offered food, children sing for them

AND they get to play fun games or even go ice skating.

Prince Willem Alexander from Oranje-Nassau and wife Princess Maxima

(Picture source Internet)

Almost everyone is dressed in orange,

or wears something orange

because it is the royal familiys color.

I also used to live in Holland for a couple of years

and even though the country is small and very crowded

(that was the main reason we left)

I like to follow what is going on in that country.

Dutch people are - in general - very nice people.

And they have fun traditions and beautiful flowers.

Photo source Internet

One more month

This place has been our home for six months now.

We rent the house of a huge farm that used to be a pig farm.

The barns and stables have been empty for years.

Our landlord bought the farm (about 30 ha) a couple of years back.

He and his family are living a couple of km from here on the original farm which is called "Semb Mölla". They are bording and breeding race horses (trotters). I don't know how much land they really own, but they told us that they are also renting additional farmland to be able to produce all the feed they need for their horses.

There are tow harm houses on this property.

The second one is just a couple hundred meters away from us, it's also rented out.

It has a garage and a small barn, that is where our horses are living.

The photos where made last September...

This is the horse farm we will move to end of May...

We are already in the planning for the move.

But with the help of the internet is that really easy.

So much can be arranged online these days, I love that!

Hasi's sister will come from Holland to

help us with packing and cleaning and

the moving company is already arranged for the 28th of May.

It will be a "smooth ride" all the way to Fjälkinge!

:))

Beauty Day for Cleo

Mission accomplished!

It was time for Cleo's Beauty Day

and her Spring haircut!

When I was taking this picture i could here her think:

"Well well, she's taking

ANOTHER picture of me, hmmm, whatever...!"

She was still relaxed, enjoying the morning sun and

I had promised her a cookie if she would "smile" into the camera.

;-)

OH OH!!!

"That's not good! How did I end up here???"

"Are you really serious??!!??"

"I don't need a bath, I look fantastic and the smell is OK too!!!

I just rolled in something interesting yesterday..."

"I HATE THAT!!!"

"You're sooo mean! I thought this would be a fun day and look at me now!"

"I don't deserve this!!!"

"I AM THE QUEEN!"

"Hmmmm!

Stupid camera!

Get on with this Missy!

I don't have all day!"

"I think I got a little water in my ear... gotta shake it out."

"Oh YES! THAT'S more like it!

"I like that thing that blows warm air on my skin!!!

And please don't forget the massage!"

"This feels pretty nice!

Thank you!"

"Yes, you were right, I was a little filthy, that's true.

I am the most beautiful little dog on this planet now, right??"

"HAIRCUT??

I didn't sign up for that!!!"

*

*

*

ONE HOUR

and even MORE cookies

LATER.....

TA TA!!!!

:))

Yesterday's Impressions

I love spring!

Every day, every drive is exciting!

Each day the scenery is different.

There is something NEW to discover every day.

I wish I had a wide-angle lens to get nicer lanscape shots though!!!

GRRR!

At I first thought...

OH! Look at those sheep, aren't they cute!

But then I realized it were

VERY

HAPPY

PIGS on the LOOSE!

This is our landlord at work.

Two of the large fields around the farm got ploughed last week.

Yesterday they planted the new seeds and finished the field by draging a big heavy roller across the field to push the rocks back into the ground.

We are ready for some rain now...

TODAY

is a busy day,

I have to give our little one (Cleo) a bath,

she is getting a little filthy!

And she will have her haircut today.

Maybe I'll think of making a before and after photo...

;-)

Hasi has to go to town running a few errands,

I will stay put and deal with some

household stuff and entertain the animals...

Have a great day everyone!

:))

Optical Illusions

For those who are interested in more

optical illusions

go

HERE

;-)

The next level...

The horseshoe picture is fantastic, isn't it!

But now my friends it's time to go to the next level...

How about the ballerina?

Is she dancing clockwise or anti-clockwise???

THE Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

uses logic

detail oriented

facts rule

words and language

present and past

math and science

can comprehend

knowing

acknowledges

order/pattern perception

knows object name

reality based

forms strategies

practical

safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

uses feeling

"big picture" oriented

imagination rules

symbols and images

present and future

philosophy & religion

can "get it" (i.e. meaning)

believes

appreciates

spatial perception

knows object function

fantasy based

presents possibilities

impetuous

risk taking

(Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html)

:))

How do you see it?

I took this picture in 2002 in Austria, or maybe it was 2003...

It has always faszinated me since.

Of course, it is a footprint of a horseshoe, that is a fact.

The question is

HOW DO YOU SEE IT ?

WHAT DO YOU SEE ?

Do you see it "deep", meaning normal,

as an imprint in the dirt,

left by a horseshoe?

Or do you see it

if the "horseshoe" would lay

ON TOP of the dirt...?

Or can you even see it both ways???

I can.

;-)

Try it for yourself!

_

New Life Everywhere

What a wonderful time of the year!

Fresh greens everywhere.

Gorgeous colors everywhere.

And new babies...

:))

I saw them in a corner of their pasture and thought:

"Great! I can get some nice horse baby shots!"

But you can see what they did

when they saw me coming closer....

HEJ DÅ!

meaning

BYE BYE!

;-))

Full time job

BLOGGING

is hard work.

It could become a

FULL TIME JOB!

We blog a lot because we want to share and

want to keep our regular readers happy, don't we!

Of course we do!

;-)

But that is not enough...

There are all those friends

that want to keep in touch with you

on other platforms

like

stayfriends.com

facebook.com

(...where strangers become your friend by just one click)

twitter.com

(...where you gather followers)

msn messenger

and myspace

(...where people pretend to be someone they are not)

yahoo messenger

AIM

ICQ

and

Jabber,

and not to forget Skype!

Just to name a few.

Wouldn't ONE provider/service be enough for all of us?

It would make life so much easier!

Well..

And then you have your special contacts and friends

who you are still sending regular (ordinary) e-mails from time to time,

friends who want to know what is going on in our lives.

That is why I started blogging originally.

I thought it would be the easiest way to

keep all our friends and contacts up to date

on our daily adventures.

For those who really want to know.

But I am not complaining!

Don't get me wrong.

I love to get e-mails and also love to write them myself.

It is still my favourite way to stay in touch with our beloved friends all over the world.

But all that

IMing and

tweeting and

facebooking

is just too much for me.

A great way to get friends and followers though...

I love the internet

BUT

What will they come up with next?

;-)

Tolle Nachbarn

Vor 6 Monaten haben wir "Auf Wiedersehen" gesagt.

Mönchdorf vermissen wir nicht.

Auch das Haus nicht, in dem wir 5 Jahre gewohnt haben.

Wir hatten tolle Nachbarn in Mönchdorf!

Die Besten die man sich vorstellen kann.

Wir vermissen nix aus Österreich,

nur unsere lieben Nachbarn Z. und M.!

Aber natürlich bleiben wir in Verbindung

und die Beiden schicken uns Fotos von unserem

alten Haus.

Die neuen Besitzer

sind gerade beim Umbauen.

In den ersten 2 Jahren unserer Zeit dort

taten wir nix anderes als renovieren und bauen.

Jetzt ist jemand anders an der Reihe!

:)

Die Fotos zeigen nur den Anfang...

Fotos von Nachbar Mandi :)

Ein Haus wie dieses

könnte viele Geschichten erzählen.

Es hat viele Jahreszeiten kommen und gehen sehen.

Familien haben dort gelebt, Tiere gehalten und Kinder großgezogen.

Und es waren harte, kalte Zeiten damals.

Es gab einen Baum hinter dem Haus,

er war nicht groß aber alt.

Es war eine Linde.

Ein wunderschöner Baum,

die Hunde lagen gerne darunter.

Jetzt ist er weg.

Zeiten und Dinge ändern sich,

Menschen kommen und gehen,

so wie die Jahreszeiten.

Nur dort wo Verfall ist,

kann Erneuerung stattfinden.

Ich hoffe und wünsche,

dass die neue Familie glücklich wird in ihrem neuen Heim.

Wir waren es.

Ich bin sicher sie werden viel Liebe

in die Renovierung des Hauses stecken.

Und eins weiss ich ganz sicher,

sie haben fantastische Nachbarn!

:))

Great Neighbours

We said "Good Bye" 6 months ago.

We don't miss the village,

we don't miss the house that was our home for 5 years.

We had wonderful neighbours in Mönchdorf (Austria).

The best you can imagine.

We don't miss anything about Austria,

only our neighbors Z. and M.!

But we stay in touch and they are

sending us picures from our old house.

The new owners, their new neighbours,

are doing a major

RECONSTRUCTION.

We did nothing but renovating and landscaping

the first two years while living there,

now it is their turn!

:)

The photos below show only the beginning...

Photos by neighbour Mandi :)

A house like that could tell many stories.

It has seen many seasons.

Families lived there, kept animals and raised children there.

And it was rough, cold times back then.

There was a tree standing right behind the house,

it wasn't tall but old.

I think it's called Lime in english.

It was a beautiful tree,

the dogs loved to sit under it.

It's gone.

Things change, people come and go like the seasons do.

Only if there is decay,

rebuilding can arise.

I hope and wish that

the new family will be happy there,

we were.

I am sure they will put

lots of love into the reconstruction of the house.

And I know for sure they have great neighbours!

:))

Picture in the header

"Ales stenar"

I took this one and the picture

in the header on the coast in south Sweden.

Ale's Stones (Ales stenar in Swedish) is a megalithic monument in Scania in southern Sweden, probably from circa 600 CE, that is, the end of the Nordic Iron Age. Scanian folklore ascribes the stones to King Ale's grave. This site is significant for Scandinavian heritage studies.

Ale's Stones consist of a 67 metre long stone ship formed by 59 large boulders of sandstone, weighing up to 1.8 tonnes each.

There are more sites like that throughout Skandinavia and Europe.

picture source internet...

:)

It is truely a magical place!

*

YES!!!

YES!

We are back in Getinge, the contract is signed and we are happy!!!

The first map shows where we'll move to 1st of June.

The second map shows Getinge,

that is the place

where we live now,

as well as "Fjälkinge",

that's where the horse farm is.

Europe

South Sweden

Fjälkinge is a nice village

about 10 km from Kristianstad,

an absolute historically interesting city in South Sweden.

The horse farm is just outside Fjälkinge,

and just minutes away from very nice Nature Reserve.

(That is the "hill" behind the farm on the second photo below...)

The farm is called "Persdal" and used to be a HUGE farm.

I believe that most of the land has been sold many years ago

and since then it has been adapted to keep horses.

Size of the farm is

about 6 acres, that is 2,5 ha

pastures and paddocks.

And we will rent

an additional 7,4 acres (3ha) of summer pasture.

Lots of space for happy horses!!

The barn has room for 10 or 11 horses at it is now,

but there is room for more if we want to.

We will see.

We will stay there at least 2 years,

but you'll never now.

It might just be those 2 years, it might be longer.

We don't have any specific plans for now.

We take it day by day and focus on the move first.

We'll be very busy for the weeks and months to come,

quiet a few things have to be arranged.

Can't wait for 1st of June!!!

:)))

*HAPPY*

*