My New Year Wish for You...

My Happy New Year wish for you
Is for your best year yet,
A year where life is peaceful,
And what you want, you get.

A year in which you cherish
The past year’s memories,
And live your life each new day,
Full of bright expectancies.

I wish for you a holiday
With happiness galore;
And when it’s done, I wish you
Happy New Year, and many more.

By Joanna Fuchs
To all my friends around the world have a very happy and healthy New Year 2014. May all your wishes and dreams come true!

From my house to yours...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

FROHE WEIHNACHTEN

JOYEUX NOEL

FELIZ NAVIDAD

BUON NATALE

MELE KALIKIMAKA

HYVAA JOULUA

VROLIJK KERSTFEEST

A N D   P E A C E   O N   E A R T H

Christmas at the Vintage Store

Festive decorations at the vintage store.

Are you done already decorating your house?

No tree for us this year, we are keeping it simple.

Lots of other decorations though.

Have a look at my friend Kay's tree.

She always has a beautiful vintage one.
* * *
Let Christmas not become a thing
Merely of merchant's trafficking,
Of tinsel, bell and holly wreath
And surface pleasure, but beneath
The childish glamour, let us find
Nourishment for soul and mind.
Let us follow kinder ways
Through our teeming human maze,
And help the age of peace to come
From a Dreamer's martyrdom.
~Madeline Morse

 



Amaryllis and Winter Berries

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go.

Trees, wreaths and mistletoe.

Winter berries are my favorite.

I have all my Christmas shopping done.

How about you?

* * *

Going to go and see Philomena the movie this weekend.

Looking forward to it.

There are a few more good movies out right now, that I want to see.

I don't go to the movies often, I prefer to read, but one does make exceptions for great movies.

* * *

Books I am reading right now

The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses

by Jeannette Walls.

Wonderful books!

Staying up late to read.

* * *

 

 

 



My fur babies

 Gracie

 Lucy

Had a photo session with the fur kids.

Gracie is the perfect model.

Lucy on the other hand does not care much for the camera.

They are so different.

Going on a little vacation tomorrow.

Will be back in a week.

Wishing everyone in the States a Happy Thanksgiving.

Drum Roll.....

.....And the winner of the journal from kisii is.....

Sheri from Red Rose Alley.

Congratulations!

Please e-mail me with your address and I will get it in the mail to you.

~ ~ ~

We had quite a frightening afternoon today. 

A tornado warning was issued for our area.

The sirens went off and we had to seek shelter.

Strong storms and tornadoes moved through our area and did quite some damage.

Luckily we are fine.

Two schools just a few miles south of us were badly hit.

My thoughts are with the people in the hard hit areas.

Fall Give-Away

The owner of "kisii" on Etsy, Reena Devani, has graciously donated one of her beautiful moleskine journals for this give-away.

These journals are handmade and so beautiful and fit so perfectly into your purse.

She keeps adding more and more of these beauties to her Etsy shop.

Have a look here.

The last sheets of the journal are perforated, makes it so very easy to detach if needed.

There is also an inner pocket on the back cover that is great for small notes.

These journals would make wonderful gifts.

I carry one with me at all times.

* * *
In order to win, you must be a follower of this blog.

Just leave me a comment and I will enter you for the drawing.

The winner will be announced on Sunday, November 17th.

Good luck!

Mehndi...

or Henna, as it is known in the western world,

is a temporary form of skin decoration,

practiced mostly in India.

My dear friend Vidhya was so nice and applied

some beautiful designs to my hand.

She did not have a "cone", so next 

week I will get to show you more of

her creations.
Thank you, Vidhya!

* * *

Last weekend I went here.

So many people, yet I did not see 

the same sari twice.

* * *

Enjoy your Sunday!

.

My little trip...

...to the huge flea market at Shipshewana,

was really nice and the weather was beautiful.

Met "old" friends and made new ones.

Went to an Amish bakery and cheese shop.

Did lots of purchasing.

The highlight was a dinner invitation by an Amish lady at her house

and experiencing a different way of life.

Looking forward to next year's trip.

Wishing you all a good start of the new week!

Blog I love - Sweet Inspired Home by Khammany.

Pumpkins galore...

Lots of pumpkins at Trader Joe's in Indianapolis.

Everyone is getting ready decorating for Halloween.

It doesn't feel like it yet, with the weather being so nice and warm.

Are you decorating for Halloween?

Here is an interesting fact -

Ireland: The birthplace of Halloween 

Halloween was invented by Celts in Ireland/Scotland, and it was much scarier back then.

 Farmers believed that ancient spirits could claw their way into reality on October 31, so they had to burn bones and stuff to welcome the good ghosts and cast off the bad ones.
I prefer the pointless, debauched version of Halloween they have today.
Oh and the Irish carve turnips.

Take care!

And thank you for your comments,

they are always appreciated so much. :)

Have a wonderful week!

Sunset...

"Peace is seeing the sunset and knowing who to thank."

- Unknown Author

I took this photo on my way home from Shipshewana.

Right through the windshield,

no time to get out of the car.

Did not want to miss this beautiful sight.

Have a wonderful start of the new week.

Take care!

Sawasdee Thai Cuisine

Our most favorite food is Thai.

So we are always on the look-out for a Thai Restaurant we have not visited yet.

Sawasdee is in Indianapolis.

The food was delicious.

We are trying to stay more and more vegetarian and we are loving the tofu.

What is your favorite food?

~ ~ ~

Blog I love - Cloudia's Comfort Spiral "Your Daily Hawaii Vacation".

~ ~ ~

Temps here are still in the 90's, a beautiful late summer.

~ ~ ~

Going to Shipshewana next week for two days to meet up with two of my friends from Michigan

and visiting the gigantic Flea Market there.

~ ~ ~

Have a great week! :)

Congratulations...

Congratulations Claudia, 

you are the winner of the summer giveaway.

Please send me an e-mail with your address

and I will get it in the mail to you.

Hope you like it!

* * *

Wishing everyone a great week.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

kisii - A summer giveaway

It's time for a summer giveaway.

This colorful tribal chevron moleskin journal is from one of my favorite shops on Etsy.

It is kisii.

The shop's owner is Reena Devani, a wonderful lady.

Everything in her shop is handmade, inspired by nature, yoga, and travel.

You will find beautiful photography, bracelets, journals, mala, and necklaces.

Have a look and check out her shop.

She is having an end of summer sale right now.

Everything is 10% off and who doesn't like a sale?

One dollar from each sale is donated towards cancer research.

If you would like to have a chance to win this journal,

you must be a follower of this blog,

and leave me a comment on this posting.

The lucky winner will be drawn on Sunday, August 25th.

Good luck! :)

Home in Bavaria

Obatzda at Kathi Braeu in Heckenhof

my brother's wife Monika, Cary and I

What I was dreaming of for a long time, our bread.

Wiener Schnitzel

at an old neighborhood inn

Another old tradition, snuff.

At these small neighborhood places, everyone is friendly and talks to you.

my brother Robert

Franconian Bratwuerste 

As you can tell, we had a great time in Germany.

Family, friends, and good food.

I miss it already.

All pics credit to my brother and his wife Monika.