a knights tournament in a little medieval town...

The weather was a lot better. The camera phone certainly did not do justice to the wonderful afternoon we had in Koenigstein. Yep, told ya that I forgot my SD card that day! Yes, I'm still slapping myself silly now as I type.

Last weekend, we finally figured our way to get to the fort in Koenigstein. Two years ago when we navigated our way there, we could just see the fort and then the navigator led us out of the town. It was so near, yet so far. We hadn't tried again until last Saturday when we made a date with the Owyongs to meet there to catch the Knights Tournament live. Actually, nothing much lah... only the kids were blown away. It got a bit boring after a while - just like watching a much rehearsed gladiator show.

analogue vs digital design...

I started pondering on why it's always been easier for me to have a sense of time when I look at an analogue clock face rather than a digital one. I began to ask if there had anything to do with how the brain processes its information. - Ok, this is because I get very irritated when one of our analogue clocks is down. I seem to lose track of time easily because the digital time display on my computer does little influence on how I perceive how much time I still have before I rush off to do other things. I think people like me have to have thousands of alarm set to remind me to stay on task.

Some quotes I found on the Internet:
"Digital is discrete, Analogue is complete."
"Digital is about bits and pieces. Analogue is everything."
I suppose analogue gives the big picture, while digital gives details. Hmmm, maybe. Coz that's how I tick, I think. My rough idea of time comes from an analogue clock face, but when it's down to the seconds, I'd rather a digital one.

Please let me know if you manage to find a scientific study on how analogue and digital time displays relate to the lateralisation of the brain.

first fruits...

I never thought I'd actually like gardening, but with the botanic gardens of Frankfurt in my backyard, it's hard to resist the calling!

When we moved in, our whole patio was surrounded by ready soil in flower boxes! And this soil - I tell you - is so fertile - what with all the pollens swept from the botanic gardens (Palmengarten) - that anything and everything thrives. Else, I would be pulling out weeds on a weekly basis, and the flower boxes will be flooded after a storm. So I was "called" to plant! And gee, I really enjoy it! I don't mean to claim that I have green fingers, but to have my lavenders and roses surviving two winters, it's quite a satisfaction! Of course, for a start, I did fervently choose plants that are easier to care for. Personally, I love lavenders. It's little wonder that my children have learnt to identify these bushes at an early age. In fact, it was pretty impressive when a not yet 3-year-old Bryan stood in front of a painting from the Impressionistic era, exclaiming, "Wow! Mommy, look at those beautiful lavenders!" That did make a few jaws drop!

This year, we've got quite an assortment for our "garden" : tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, rosemary, daisies, rain daisies, carnations, kalanchoe, gernanium, campunala, chrysanthemum etc! Not forgetting our lavenders and roses - still thriving!

alan, alex and abracadabra * * *

mothers will always fall in love with...

this gentle side of men!

During this trip, I was simply inspired by the tenderness displayed by the fathers. These lucky girls are forever a daddy's pearl!

anticipating...

This will arrive in 7 days' time! Yippee!

what do horses like to snack on?

Dandelions!

That's Elke. She owns 7 horses!

Camping in a Farm in Billingshausen

Over the Pentecost weekend, we had the most amazing spring weather, about 24-5 deg C warm and the sky was clear and blue.

We were indeed very fortunate that Alan's college friend invited us over to his farm to celebrate his birthday. And the kids had their first farm stay, first-time on a horseback, first time pitching a tent, first bonfire, first-time watching the beautiful night sky filled with stars while snuggling up in a sleeping bag... they had a blast!

haircut...

Ok, in the previous post, you probably saw Kristin with her messy hair in the spring photo shoot in school. She just couldn't be persuaded to have her hair cut at the hair-dresser that weekend before.

So what did I have to do in the end?

I got to snip her hair myself... Hair-dressing can be quite fun. Gee, this SAHM-hood stint is allowing me to discover other professions!

school photos in spring...

Gee, couldn't they get any unhappier?
Don't you think Kristin looks pretty in her outfit?!
Sorry about the quality... my hands were shaking, and that was a shot of a shot...