Computer troubles

Now that our internet connexion is working for a little while I hurry to tell that said connexion is not there most of the time. The goblins will hopefully repair it today or tomorrow.

Poetry Monday :: Clothes

  Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and Diane of On the Border  are taking turns supplying us with a topic for this weekly endeavour. They also always write wonderful, either funny, thought-provoking, ingenious or simply good verse. Go and read. This Monday's clue is Clothes.
   Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is taking a break due to her husband's health issue. Let's continue  to send warm thoughts, good energy and lots of prayers their way. 

 Pants, skirts, blouses or shirts?

Oh, ants in my pants,
And a mouse in my blouse,
Dirt on my skirt
And a squirt on my shirt.

Rocks in my socks
And glue on my shoe
Roots on my boots
And a gnat in my hat.

But the goat ate my coat
and the vandals took my sandals
Shredder had my sweater*
And the kittens my mittens.

Now all I've left over
Is a shirt full of clover.
and soggy old pants,
filled with seeds for my plants.

But that's as should be
Because clothing for me
Are but practical things
 To protect me from stings
And from thorns and from stones
I dont care about the Jones'.
When I tend to my plants,
I'll wear tabi and swants!

For next Monday: Our favourite pictures.

______________________________
* In the Danish version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the lines:

Shredder: You may call me ... The Shredder.
Raphael: A kitchen utensil?

is translated:

Shredder: You may call me ... The Shredder!
Raphael: Did you say Sweater?

Springvandet springer ⛲ Fountain running

Og så er der søreme vand i springvandet! Det er blevet omdøbt til Fælleskilden.

- ⛲ - 

And there's water running in the fountain! It has beeen renamed Fælleskilden - The Common Source.

Lidt historie om springvandet    -- ⛲ --    A bit of the history of the fountain. 

     Her er springvandet, Vandstenshaven, på sin gamle plads i Helsinge. Her stod det til gågaden blev renoveret i 2006.

- ⛲ - 

  The fountain, then called Vandstenshaven (Garden of Waterstones), in its old place in the middle of Helsinge. It was taken down when the pedestrian area was re-made in 2006.

     Stenene stod først her, foran Hallernes hovedindgang. Jeg gætter på at de lå i vejen for varebilerne, så de blev flyttet omkring 2012 (foto fra VisitNordsjaelland.no hvor det ikke ligger længere).

- ⛲ - 

   At first the stones were placed in front of the main entrance. But I guess that they were troublesome for big lorries. They were moved around 2012. (photo from www.visitnordsjaelland.no/ where it has been taken down).

     De seks små sognesten - ikke Helsinge - og deres placering frem til foråret 2020.
     De gule pile peger på de to sten, der faktisk er med på billedet, kanten er meget længere.

- ⛲ - 

  The stones, minus the central - Helsinge - one and their placement as border stones until spring 2020.
  The yellow arrows show where the two stones actually in the photo are situated, the border is much longer.

     Arbejdet med det nye springvand er i gang. To flinke fyre fra F. Madsen Entreprise lod mig fotografere og svarede på spørgsmål.

- ⛲ - 

  Works at the new fountain has begun. Two nice workers put up with  my questions and photographing.

     Her kan man se, at stenene er fjernet fra græsset ved hallerne.

- ⛲ - 

  The stones have been removed from here.

     Helsinge kommune fra 1970 til 2007. Placeringen af stenene både i det gamle springvand, Vandstenshaven, og det nye, Fælleskilden, svarer til sognenes placering rundt om Helsinge.
     Helsinge kommunes våben syboliserer blandt andet de mange kilder i kommunen, både hellige og ikke.

- ⛲ - 

  Helsinge municipality 1970 to 2007. In both fountains, the old Garden of Waterstones and the new The Common Source, the placement of the stones are the same as the geographic lay out of the municipality.
  The coat of arms of the old municipality hints at the many, many sources of water in the municipaliy both holy and otherwise.

Om indvielsen - - ⛲ - On renaming and rewatering, Danish only.

VANDSTENSHAVEN BLIVER 'FÆLLESKILDEN'
Symbolet på kommunefællesskabet i Helsinge, 'Vandstenshaven', der var en del af den første udgave af Gågaden, kommer nu til live igen. Det sker når Helsinge-Hallerne indvier springvandet på den nye plads ved hallerne - og døber det 'Fælleskilden'.

Indvielsen foregår søndag 27. september kl. 11.30 med velkomst ved bestyrelses-medlem Michael Bruun og tale af formand for Børn, Idræts og Familie-Udvalget, Natasha Stenbo Enetoft.

Vandstenshaven blev fjernet i 2006, da den nye Gågade blev etableret, og Helsinge Byråd besluttede at stenene fra de syv sogne skulle have plads ved Helsinge-Halllerne.

Stenene, der har ligget ved Helsinge-Hallerne i 15 år, kommer nu i deres rette element.

Sognestenene fra Helsinge, Valby, Annisse, Ramløse, Valby, Vejby-Tibirke og Mårum har haft en lidt omskiftelig tilværelse ved hallerne og har også tjent som afspærring for indkørsel til forpladsen.

Med den kommunale gave fulgte i sin tid også en bevilling, så der er 125.000 kroner til rådighed til at få genetableret det. KILDE

Fupmalerier 🎨 Fake Paintings; Sunday Selection

The photo of the village pond in Helsinge looked so much like a painting, that I manipulated it into being one.  And then I could not stop. 🎨

 Gadekæret -- The village pond.

 En regnbue om morgenen -- A morning Rainbow

 Skov i september - Woods in September

 Uvejr på vej - Before the Rain

Efterårsskumring -- Fall Twillight

Blå blomster -- Two blue Flowers

And some older "paintings", both from our local pond.

The last, almost non-figurative from long ago:

Stakkels frø 🐸 Poor Frog

     Inde i Helsinge, hvor Uglemor bedriver sine indkøb, tager med toget, går til fysioterapi og alle de andre ting, der ikke findes i hendes lille landsby, er der også et gadekær.
     I Gadekæret er der to springvand, et stort et, hvis væsentligste bidrag vist er at ilte vandet og holde det frostfrit for de mange ænder og andre fugle, der bor der, og så en frø.

-- 🐸 --  

  In Helsinge, MotherOwl's bigger town, where she goes shopping, catches the train, receives PE, and all the other things that do not happen in her own little village, we have a pond.
  In this village pond all of two fountains are coexisting. A big one, whose main aim is to aerate the water and keep the frost at bay for all the birds living in this pond. The other one is a frog.

     For nyligt har det store springvand fået en ny fin dyse så det springer med syv mindre stråler i stedet for en stor. Og det ser jo smukt ud.

-- 🐸 --

  The big fountain has recently had a new nozzle so that it now runs with seven small jets of water instead of one big one. And this is fine.

     Men den stakkels frø. Den har det ikke godt. Den trænger til at blive vasket noget så grundigt. Den trænger måske også til en ny dyse, for den vandstråle, der plejer  at stå ud af munden på frøen, er væk.
     Og sidst men ikke mindst, så trænger den altså til at det fine nye springvand fylder Gadekæret mere op, så kun stenen og frøen er synlige, og ikke det grimme fundament.

-- 🐸 --

  But the poor frog. It does not feel well I suppose. It is in need of a thorough scrubbing. It might also need a new nozzle, because the jet of water normally spewing from its mouth is either totally missing or reduced to a trickle.
  And last but not least the fine new fountain needs to fill up the pond a few inches or more, so that only the frog and its stone can again be seen. Not the ugly stones below.

Det store springvand om sommeren -- The bigger fountain in the summer 

Og om vinteren -- And in winter

Springvandet igen-igen ⛲ Fountain once again

English text below the photos.

Hovsa, jeg har glemt at opdatere om springvandets skæbne og på søndag bliver det alvor. Der er indvielse klokken 11.30, hvor springvandet, der før i tiden hed Vandstenshaven bliver igenindviet, og kommer til at hedde Fælleskilden.

Indvielsen foregår søndag 27. september kl. 11.30 med velkomst ved bestyrelsesmedlem Michael Bruun og tale af formand for Børn, idræts og familieudvalget, Natasha Stenbo Enetoft.

Her kommer nogle billeder af springvandet under opførelse:

Den allerførste grabfuld granitskærver - 14. august
The very first load of granite rubble

Så er vi ved at være der. Læg mærke til at stenene er blevet spulet - 21. august
Almost done now; notice that the stones have been cleaned 

Færdigt, men stadig indhegnet - 11. september
Finished, but still behind a fence

Så venter vi bare til på søndag - 24. september
All done - waiting for Sunday

Oops I've forgotten to update on the fountain, and now we've arrived, almost.
Sunday 27th at 11.30 a celebration and naming of the new fountain will take place. A couple of local dignitaries will speak, and from then on the fountain will run. 
These photos should bring us up to date with the works.

Words for Wednesday -- Christmas at Unicorn Farm 6

For today River at Drifting through Life has thunk up:

The two Colins 
Rambunctious 
Purple tie 
Apple pie

I'm still continuing my tale, but a bit of comic relief is in its place:

  When Torben and Tristan had left the lavatories, Susan slowly walked back to the Barn. Meanwhile the tables had been cleared and broken up into small islands, now cowered in multicoloured tablecloths and loaded with cakes, cookies, strawberry pies, apple pies, chocolates and every other delicacy imaginable. Tea, coffee and soft drinks were placed under the hayloft and everybody was mingling, talking, eating and having a good time. Only Susan felt bleak.
  Finally nobody was able to do more than nibble at the delicacies. Then Jon arose and clapped his hands: "Please everybody, clear the floor. We do not have much entertainment scheduled for tonight, but what we lack in number, will be made up for in pure energy. Give a hand to The two Collins!" Everybody moved to the walls while applauding softly, and in from the barn door came two young magicians dressed in garish colours. One had yellow trousers and cloak and an emerald green tunic, the other had a yellow tunic and green trousers and cloak. Both wore a purple tie, a red belt and an orange hat with blue plumes. The result almost hurt the eyes of the audience. The two Colins did a row of somersault diagonal to one another. Then they stood took off hats and capes throwing them through the air to Jon who caught them with ease. Then the two Colins drew their wands, did a handstand and fired their wands while upside down. Petals, butterflies and leaves began falling in droves from the ceiling. The yellow Colin turned around and pointed his wand through his legs at the green Colin - who did exactly the same. They fired again and rolled and tumbled to avoid the jets of emerald green and shining yellow steam coming from the wands. Where they hit, yellow clothes changed to green and green to yellow. The two Colins jumped, somersaulted and sprang to the best of their ability all the while firing jets of emerald and yellow vapours at one another. In the end The two Colins sat back to back with their clothes a mottled mix of yellow and green and leaves and petals in the same colours still falling around them. All the wizards and apprentices were laughing and applauding wildly at the rambunctious performance.

 ... to be continued

Hobbit Day -- 22/9 -- Hobbitdag

 Mimi tells us that today is Hobbit Day -- Bilbo's and Frodo's Birth anniversary

   As one of the things I enjoy most in the books are the merry Hobbits and the exuberant poetry of Hobbits, Dwarves and Elves. I'd like to cite the Song of Plates - The Washing Song - Chip the Glasses (whatever its real title is) from The Hobbit. 
  If you want to hear Tolkien himself sing this song, he's right here. Thank you River for the inspiration. If it does not work, just follow the link.

Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates -
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
Splash the wine on every door!

Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl,
Pound them up with a thumping pole;
And when you’ve finished if any are whole,
Send them down the hall to roll!

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
So, carefully! carefully with the plates!

Poetry Monday :: Ancestor ... Not Mine

Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and Diane of On the Border  are taking turns supplying us with a topic for this weekly endeavour. They also always write wonderful, either funny, thought-provoking, ingenious or simply good verse. Go and read.
   Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is taking a break due to her husband's ill health. Let's send warm thoughts, good energy and lots of prayers their way. 

  Today I am feeling run down, hung up, and sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread, for this reason I won't be participating in Poetry Monday with a verse of my own. But participate I will. I always felt related to the Hobbits. Frodo and Bilbo, Merry, Pippin, Sam and all the other Hobbits are among my ancestry - at least in the spirit. 
  I'm off to have my second breakfast, and so I'll let J.R.R. Tolkien speak for me:  

Lament For Gandalf - by Frodo 
When evening in the Shire was grey
his footsteps on the Hill were heard;
before the dawn he went away
on journey long without a word.

From Wilderland to Western shore,
from northern waste to southern hill,
through dragon-lair and hidden door
and darkling woods he walked at will.

With Dwarf and Hobbit, Elves and Men,
with mortal and immortal folk,
with bird on bough and beast in den,
in their own secret tongues he spoke.

A deadly sword, a healing hand,
a back that bent beneath its load;
a trumpet-voice, a burning brand,
a weary pilgrim on the road.

A lord of wisdom throned he sat,
swift in anger, quick to laugh;
an old man in a battered hat
who leaned upon a thorny staff.

He stood upon the bridge alone
and Fire and Shadow both defied;
his staff was broken on the stone,
in Khazad-dûm his wisdom died.
     (Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2)

Experimenting with Blogger - Updated

As per October 7 this does not work for me any more.

If you're in for an experiment to try to access Legacy Blogger even if the option is not given to us any longer here's how I do it.

You'll need your BloggerID: It is in the place marked with an orange oval in the screenshot below. I greyed out mine as I do not want you to edit my blog 😉 But I think you get the idea.

- copy the words below the screenshot into a document.
- copy / paste your own BloggerID instead of the X'es
- copy / paste the whole of it into the adress line of your browser.
- press Enter and you should be back to Legacy Blogger's bloglist.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=XXXXXXXXXXXXX&useLegacyBlogger=true#allposts

Bye Legacy Blogger - You'll be Missed

As of today I am no longer given the option to change back

See, something's missing here!

Sniff-sniffle-sob!

This is still written in Legacy Blogger, because I had it open in another tab. But it can't be long till it's totally gone.

And I found a new, stupid thing in New Blogger:
  Pressing Enter inserts < p > meaning a new paragraph adding an extra new line.
  If you want good ole < br > giving only a single line you now have to remember to hold down Shift while pressing Enter!   Extra work for all of us courtecy of DNB. Sorry for the extra spaces, if I did not add them, they just did their job, but was not written out.

Words for Wednesday - 16 September

  For this Wednesday, River at Drifting through Life has dug up this sentence for us. From where she does not remember, but would have given due credit if she could. In her own words:  This is a sentence I read somewhere but don't remember where so I hope the author forgives me for borrowing it without crediting, which I would do if I could.

With that single statement, he steamrollered my happiness right into the ground

  Well I just go on with my story of the Christmas party:

Jon and Martine engaged the Saami witches and wizards in a discussion on the use of music in magic. Susan was reminded of the wand-singing she and the other apprentices were learning, but she did not know if she was allowed to talk about it or not. Neither Tähti nor Thora had ever told them to keep it secret, but neither had they ever spoken of it outside the lessons. She looked at Rósa and Anna, who were both in the green group as well and they looked back at her. Anna leant over to her and Rósa and asked in a whisper: "Are we allowed to speak of wand-singing at all, or is it a secret."
"I do not know," Rósa answered, and Susan shook her head slowly and whispered back: "I'll go and ask Thora."
She worked her way to Thora's seat at the other end of the first table towards the back of the room. It was crowded and noisy. As she reached Thora, the witch held her hand in the air to stop Susan and continued her discussion with the German wizard in Lederhosen and alpine hat with a purple brush. Susan sat down next to Veronika and prepared to wait. She looked around, revelling in the many different dresses, colours and costumes in the Barn. Then she noticed that the lean, dark-haired with the clogs, whom she had notice earlier on, sat talking quietly and intently to Torben. Susan did her best to look interested in the conversation Veronika was having with a Dutch lace-decked witch all the while listening  in at Torben and his companion's talk.
They were rehashing old resentments, repeating all the slights, burnings, witch-processes and so on that the magical people had suffered from the hands of stupid, ignorant, and often frightened people.
After having waited for ten minutes or more, Susan felt the urge to pee. "Well I can do that while waiting," she thought. and walked the rest of the way to the small corridor and the necessary rooms behind the brown door.
She was just about to leave the cubicle again, when she heard someone enter. She recognized the sound of clogs on the floor. It mus be one of the Dutch. Then she heard Torben say: "We have in short been suffering without doing anything for far too long." 
And the she overheard  Tristan whispering to Torben: "But when we have been elected, a new golden age will be dawning." and with that single statement, he steamrollered her happiness right into the ground.


... to be continued

Poetry Monday :: Books - Updated again

Poetry Monday has come and gone.
Diane of On the Border has once again showed off her equilibristic wordsmithery.

  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is taking a break due to her husband's ill health. And even if some of her latest news were a bit more positive, she, and her husband, are still in for some rough times to come.  Let's continue to send warm thoughts, good energy and lots of prayers their way.

Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings has supplied us with this verse for Modays topic. And every time I think of books it starts running through my brains. Nothing on books will be forthcoming from here now or ever!

To be sung to the tune of Frère Jaques Mimi's words - not mine!
|: I'm a book-worm, :|
|: See me read! :|
|: Morning, noon and evening, :|
|: Guaranteed! :|

Well, maybe I could translate it into Danish: 

|:Jeg' en bogorm, :|
|: Se min bog! :|
|: Den er altid hos mig, :|
|: Dag og nat! :|

And next Mondays topic is An ancestor.

Bye Bye New Facebook

I was going to publish a post titled Bye Bye Facebook in a few days as I'd be leaving FB because of the new layout there. But then Steve of FBPurity saved me.
  He has made an add on for most Browsers called Revert site. It simply makes Facebook think you are using an older browser, so that it will show you the old Facebook design.

  I give him and these two extensions (or add ons, I'm not sure about the right term here) credit for having saved my sanity and six stars out of five!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+⭐

WfW - Christmas at Unicorn Farm - 4

River at Drifting through Life is supplying us with Words in September. 
From Wednesday 2nd. I still l have some unused words:  dropout - espalier - trace.
And from Wednesday 9th I sitll have:  treehouse - ferry - statue 
Those words seem enough for many days to come, as I think I used ONE of them for this next installment. At this pace, River's words will last me until next year.


As Kensuke, Teiko, Ellen, Rósa and Susan were sent from the kitchen to get dressed for the festive meal, they discovered that they had not been the only ones working hard. Knud and Kalle had been levelling the roads, Several of the Yellow team had been cleaning out the stables, polishing the statues in the niches; and the blue team had been sweeping all corridors and putting up extra tables. Of course they were also using magic, but much of the menial work went as fast, and left them not as tired in both body and mind when done by ordinary means.
  Now all the guests were somewhere else, dressing in their finery, and the apprentices gathered in the Barn by the wardrobes. On their pegs hung new, festive clothing from nicer fabric than the coarse cotton of their ordinary school uniforms. The green team found green tunics with the openings bordered by embroidery in different colours and patterns, all pleasing to the eye and well done. The tunics had vents at the bottom - also embroidered - and belts in fitting colours. The skirts and trousers, white with black and purple stripes as always, were made from some silk-like material, soft and supple, but still warm. They all washed hands and faces first and combed and brushed their hair. Then they put on the finery, which fit them just as well as the normal uniforms. Shoes or boots were supplied as well. Made from soft leather with fasteners and strings in colours to match their tunics, and they were even comfortable. Susan felt suddenly shy. She did not know where she was supposed to go, or if she should go and sit down at all. The lay out for the tables was new and unusual. She just stayed by the wardrobe, as did most of the other apprentices.
  The small door in the back of the barn was opened, and the teachers came in, each ushering a bundle of guests. 
  Tähti and Taavi were dressed in traditional Finnish dresses, in subdued colour, but still striking. Taavi gallantly held the door and a bevy of Greenlanders came through; the three men and boys in white anorak and black trousers contrasting nicely with the small, smiling lady and a girl dressed in pearl embroidered tops and white trousers. Taavi offered her arm to the lady and led her to the furthest table, Täthi and the rest of the Inuit trailing behind.
  Jon and Martine were dressed in Norwegian bunad, he looked a bit strange, but the white shirt and deep blue woollen vest and trousers with silver buttons set off his black skin nicely. They warded a small company of The Saami all dressed in their traditional tunics in primal colours and reindeer hide boots. They went to stand near the next table.
  Birgitta was dressed in something very much like Martine's bunad, but the choice of colours made her for all the world look like she just stepped from Carl Larsson's Christmas painting. Some of her guests were well known to Susan and her friends, but how different they looked! Ella was wearing a dirndl in a striking red colour, tied together with strings of some silvery material over a white blouse; while Kensuke and Teiko looked fabulous in kimonos, Teiko's were a very soft, light blue colour, almost like a starling's egg, getting paler towards the bottom of the dress and patterned with flowers in pink, golden and green. Kensuke's was simpler, dark green with a subtle pattern in darker and lighter shades, making a rippling effect when he moved. Instead of the traditional sandals, they wore ninja boots, where the big toe was separated from the other four, giving them a funny, almost reptilian look. Susan found them practical and was almost a bit jealous, even though her boots were the best, she had ever worn. They waved at Susan and she smiled timidly back at them.
  Thora, Gilvi and Torben were dressed in their normal attire, only now sparkling clean, and made from finer fabrics. Thora as always in white shirt under a dark green dress, her only concession to dressing was a silver brooch, and Gilvi looked much like the day Susan first met him. Torben wore a suit in dove grey, a white shirt and a bow tie, his festive looks. Among their guests were some that none of the apprentices recognized. A lean, dark-haired man in white shirt, black trousers and clogs caught Susan's attention. Wearing clogs to a party, she thought, really strange. Heidi noticed her looking and told her that it was a Dutch tradition. The rest were dressed in a mix of Slavic embroidered blouses, modern clothes and sombre Italian dresses.
  Thora gently levitated until she was at least a head taller than everyone else around, then she clapped her hands: "The Yellow teams will sit at the table furthest from the wardrobes with Tähti and Taavi and our honoured guests from Greenland." The  yellow apprentices looked at her, and she looked back at them. "Now, off you go," she said encouragingly, and the yellow-clad apprentices, with Sif and Edwin in front walked off.
  "And the green team will sit with Jon and Martine and our Saami guests." Thora continued. "Off you go." After a bit of jostling and nervous giggling Knud took Susan's arm in an imitation of Taavi and Tähti and led her off towards the tables. Surprisingly Terje emulated him, grasping Hilde's arm and soon all the green apprentices were seated with Jon, Martine and the joyous looking Saami.
  "And now," Thora said, "now it becomes easier. Purple team, you go and sit with Birgitta and our visitors from Japan, Austria, Germany and Switzerland." They did with Finnbogi, the only in red leading Lis. Tage quickly grasped Ingrid by the arm and followed. Heidi and Olav did the same. and the rest followed closely so as not to be left behind.
  As they sat, Thora spoke again: "Lastly blue team come and sit here with us and visitors from Eastern and Central Europe."  David and Grani, the two eldest boys on the blue team almost fought to be the first at the table, leaving the Swedes, My and Selma to follow as best they could. Still after only a short while everybody was seated.

WfW - Christmas at Unicorn Farm - Part 3

River at Drifting through Life is supplying us with Words in September.  For today we were given a saying she heard a lot when she was very young, but not so much now:

"wrap your teeth around that"
     and/or:
treehouse
ferry
statue
step

From Wednesday 2nd. I still l have some unused words:  dropout - espalier - trace.
Let's see how far they'll take me this time around:

  Finally Susan and Rósa crossed the line of trees and flew directly to the kitchen door. Some of the Nisser stood outside on the steps, obviously waiting for them. They dismounted and handed the two crammed bags to the Icelandic nisselady and turned to leave. "Oh no you don't just leave," the nisselady said. "I need you help here in the kitchen." Rósa and Susan looked timidly at one another and none of them dared follow her inside. Susan just stood there,a s if she had grown roots, and Rósa trued to hide behind her. The Icelandic nisselady discovered that they were not following, and returned for them. She grasped Susan's arm, and pulled her inside: "Come on now. I do not bite. I'm Katla by the way." Susan took small steps after Katla all the way to the kitchen, and Rósa was right behind her. The other nisser, who had been outside waiting, were right behind Rósa. There just was no turning back. As they came through the low door to the kitchen a confusing sight met them. Pots and pans and plates covered almost all surfaces in the room. Even more pots simmered or boiled on the stove, half obscuring the room in mists. The smoke from the stove did not help any.
  A happy voice greeted Susan, and she was piled into a bony embrace. "Oh Susan good to see you again. We were shanghaied the moment we arrived by one of those tiny ladies here. We've been working ever since diligently cooking rice, cutting up fish and so on."
  "Kensuke!" Susan said, "is that really you! Welcome to our slave pen."
  "Yes it's me," Kensuke answered drolly, "and Teiko and Ella are here somewhere too. Cooper and Liam are in Australia for Christmas."
  "Oh nice!" Susan said smiling. "This is Rósa, she might look small, but she's brave and clever." 
  "Hello Rósa, nice to met you." Kensuke said bowing from the waist.
  "Hello Kensuke, nice to meet you too," Rósa said. "Susan has mentioned you and your friends a couple of times."
  "Oh, is that a big root!" Kensuke exclaimed.
  "Big root," Susan said smiling. "Do you mean that giant veggie, the greengrocer palmed off on us as he has no more radishes."
  "Daikon," Kensuke said clearly, fighting the language spell. "Yes it means big root. It is much better than radishes. I love them, and so do Teiko. Let her prepare it. You'll love to wrap your teeth around the result."
  Susan turned to Katla: "Sorry we're talking up a storm here, we're old friends ..."
  Katla nodded energetically and said: "And you want your Japanese friends to be entrusted with that monstrosity there?" Susan nodded, still a bit intimidated. "Go on, go on." Katla said. "We have enough food even if we'll have to do without radishes for garnish."
  "Well," Teiko added, "That root is big enough for both. Let's get working."
  And in something that suddenly reminded Susan of the busy evening in Ella's Granny's house, they cut, grated, boiled, dyed - yes using the red dye Susan and Rósa had bought to go with the daikon - and put on plates. Admittedly amid much more noise and laughter than in the small German house.

... to be continued

Funny

When I wrote the non-rhyming Monday Poetry on Nature, I found this funny piece of poetry. Now - cleaning out my browser tabs - I refound it and wanted to share it with you.

Oh, well, maybe I'll just copy/paste it here:

“O-U-G-H”

I’m taught p-l-o-u-g-h
Shall be pronouncé “plow.”
“Zat’s easy w’en you know,” I say,
“Mon Anglais, I’ll get through!”

My teacher say zat in zat case,
O-u-g-h is “oo.”
And zen I laugh and say to him,
“Zees Anglais make me cough.”

He say, “Not ‘coo,’ but in zat word,
O-u-g-h is ‘off.'”
Oh, Sacre bleu! Such varied sounds
Of words makes me hiccough!

He say, “Again mon frien’ ees wrong;
O-u-g-h is ‘up’
In hiccough.” Zen I cry, “No more,
You make my t’roat feel rough.”

“Non, non!” he cry, “you are not right;
O-u-g-h is ‘uff.'”
I say, “I try to spik your words,
I cannot spik zem though.”

“In time you’ll learn, but now you’re wrong!
O-u-g-h is ‘owe.'”
“I’ll try no more, I s’all go mad,
I’ll drown me in ze lough!”

“But ere you drown yourself,” said he,
“O-u-g-h is ‘ock.'”
He taught no more, I held him fast,
And killed him wiz a rough!

— Charles Battell Loomis

Preparing!

What I did with a few minutes of my spare time today:

... making drafts for Poetry Monday and Words for Wednesday for the next 8 weeks or so. Every time I use one from now on, I'll make a new one, so that when New Blogger steamrolls me, I have at least 7 weeeks where I do not have to wrestle Labels and pre-posting (dates) in DNB.
   I hope this is a stitch in time, and I won't be forced to leave Blogger when the New Blogger hits. I'm still stubbornly changing back every time I'm given the new platform, but some day - soon I'm afraid  - that option won't be available any more.
  I just hope Blogger has ironed out all bugs and missing features till then.

Poetry Monday :: Kitchen

  Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings has supplied us with Kitchen for this Modays essays in rhyming and versification. 
   Diane of On the Border will surely once again overshadow us all with her equilibristic wordsmithery. 
   Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is taking a break due to her husband's ill health. Her news are dire, and not the least uplifting even though a name for the beast has been found. Let's continue to send warm thoughts, good energy and lots of prayers their way. 
  And here are my own meandering verses: 

My kitchen is messy
More often than not
We cook and we bake there
The oven is hot!

My kitchen is smelly
From pickles and spice
from pots that are steaming,
and not always nice.

My kitchen is noisy
with clashes and clang
And often the door
is slammed with a bang.

My kitchen is lovely
We talk as we cook
We often try new things,
and go by the book.

My kitchen is quiet
when day's work is done.
We stand in the twilight
just watching the sun.

My kitchen is fragrant
From berries and jam
From thyme and from sage
that roast with a lamb.

My kitchen sure is
a contradictory spot
But though it is smallish
we love what we've got!


Next Mondays theme is Books!

WfW - Christmas at Unicorn Farm - part 2

River at Drifting through Life is supplying us with Words in September. From Wednesday 2nd. I stil l had some unused words:

patch - setback - dropout - espalier - trace

It seems I'm unable to write for very long, as my brain runs dry. Now I used two more words, and there's still more story left to tell. Let's hope for a continuation. Even though this peaceful day is not what I envisioned. Stories - even half autobiographical ones - have a life of their own.

When they reached the parking site they experienced a setback to their plans. A family in an old blue car was just arriving and the girls reached the patch of wild roses hiding their broomsticks. "Now what," Rósa asked Susan. Now we wait," Susan answered. "We'll say we're waiting for my dad to pick us up. If they ask. They won't stay for long, at least I think so. It's cold, they're not going to swim or something as if it was summer." Susan and Rósa sat down one the big boulders and placed the bags between their feet. As expected, the lady came over to them. She was wearing a baby on one arm, and a small girl held her other hand. The man stood at the water's edge with an older boy. From the smell he had been sick.
"Hello, and merry Christmas!" the lady said.
"Hello and Merry Christmas to you as well," Susan answered, while Rósa smiled at the baby, and began talking to the small girl.
"What are you doing here?" the lady asked, just as expected.
"Waiting for dad to pick us up," Susan answered. "We wanted some fresh air after what felt like hours in the car, and we volunteered to go shopping, while he and mum unpacked the car. He'll come for us soon."
"Fresh air, yes I can sympathize, and Brian there even more I suppose," the lady said with a smile to them and an anxious look to the pair at the water. "Are you also on holiday here."
"Yes," Susan answered, "I suspect we're not that many celebrating Christians on this island."
"We're having a small party one of the days," the lady answered, "it's kind of become a tradition." The man and the boy returned from the water.
"Are you OK. now Brian?" the lady asked.
"He'll be OK," the man said. "Let's drive on, then I can go shopping while he relaxes in the hammock and you take care of the two small scoundrels. Then when I return, we can unpack. If you can get the heat going, and put a kettle over for coffee, I would be a happy man," the man added smiling.
"I'll certainly try," the lady said, "Those two were smart," the lady said with a nod towards Susan and Rósa.  "They went shopping and got some fresh air, while mom and dad unpacked the car."
"Smart girls," Brian said. "I'll remember."
The small family said their good byes and drove off. The little girl kneeling on the back seat and waving until they could no longer see the car.
Then Susan and Rósa hurriedly got on their brooms and flew off direction Unicorn Farm.

... to be continued

Link in New Blogger

  Somewhat more than a year ago, I made a post on how to make a link in Blogger. It is one of my most read posts. Now the time has come to make one like it for New Blogger.
  MotherOwl proudly presents:

How to make a neat link in a comment New Blogger version:

1.
 Go to this page and make a new post. It should be easy, as you do this often ;)

 2.
Write a relevant word: I choose "Link":

3.
Mark the word, and choose Link (funny icon like a broken chain) from the menu bar (I have to first choose ••• and then Link, because I enlarged the size and the menu bar does not enlarge).

4.
Tick off open link in a new window (the one ticked off in grey), and click on "Insert link here" (or something like it - sorry my Blogger speaks Danish 😀) the letters turn small and blue.

4.
Copy the relevant link from somewhere (here from one of my WfW posts) and paste it on the red line. Select USE (or whatever - the orange word in Capitals) or hit Enter
I use "Ctrl + C" to copy and "Ctrl + V" to paste.

5.
Now your post looks like this. Press the pencil to the left, marked by a red circle:

6.
Press HTML - the ＜＞. Your post looks like this:
Mark the text from ＜a  to a＞ and copy it (Ctrl + C) you don't want a new line along with your link.

7. 

Press the ＜＞ and choose Compose again - at the pencil icon - to make your editing window look normal next time around.

8.
Go to the comment you were writing, or wherever you're writing something needing this link. Write your comment / post / whatever.
At the right place paste your link using "Ctrl + V".  It'll look like this:

 Choose "publish" and voila.

NOTES
- Take care to not inadvertently publish this post 😉 
- I keep a draft with links for copy/pasting. Then I just need to edit the link instead of starting over every time I need a link.

WfW 2 September - Christmas at Unicorn Farm

River at Drifting through Life is supplying us with Words in September. Today we were given:

1. pipes and drums band
2. patch
3. setbacks
4. garnish
5. rubble
6. costly

and/or:

1. dropout
2. espalier
3. sari
4. cloudless
5. trace
6. fabric


  I sat down, fully expecting to write a sombre piece of someone dropping out and reducing a part of Unicorn Farm to rubble, but the words would not collaborate, and instead this happened. 
  I did not use all the words, and there's more story to be told, I just ran out of steam for today. I hope to continue later with the missing words. 

This happens in the second Christmas holiday at Unicorn Farm. Wizards and witches from other schools and academies have come visiting, and the Lion Dancers from Germany among them.

As Christmas day dawned at Unicorn Farm, Susan crept over to the window in the key-room, where she had slept together with Knud, Anna, Kalle, Kirstin and Rósa. The room had grown to accommodate more of them, and with it the number of beds. Susan peeped through the curtains, it was a cloudless day, perfect for the party they had planned.
  They were served a wonderful breakfast in the Barn, the Nisser did their very best to cater for all the exotic guests, Susan saw a lady dressed in a sari made of a costly looking golden fabric, and Rósa almost choked on her hot cocoa, when she caught sight of some of the members of the pipes and drums band from Scotland wearing kilts. Kirstin pounded her on the back and tried to hush her at the same time. Some clansmen were very touchy in matters concerning their attire.
  After breakfast they were set to work. Susan was sent off to buy some radishes, as the Nisser insisted on those to garnish the dinner, and obviously somebody had eaten the ones already purchased during the night.
  "I did not eat them," Susan insisted, "why do I have to go shopping? I'd rather help Knud and Kalle level the rubble on the road."
  "You go shopping," Thora said. "You know the island and the shops, and you know how to look normal. We can't send someone dressed in outlandish dresses, who does not speak the language, and generally acts strangely. Being suspicious would be a major setback for this school."
  "Oh, yes I see," Susan said. "I'm sorry I was so recalcitrant. Do I have to walk all the way, or can I fly as far as the parking lot on the beach. Nobody's down there this time of year."
  "You see why you have to go shopping?" Thora asked. "Nobody else knows where people go and where not. Being unobtrusive is a good ting. Take Rósa along with you, and ask the Nisser if they need anything else; and yes, you can fly. But don't get caught doing it!"
  "We won't. Thank you!" Susan said and ran off to find Rósa.
  Together they ventured into the kitchen. Timidly they asked the the Icelandic nissewoman, as she and her husband were the youngest and less set in their ways and feelings of propriety. They were handed a long list of things to buy, and promised to return as fast as possible.
  As Susan had suggested, they followed the beach below the cliffs to the southernmost parking lot Nobody was down on the beach this early on a cold, clear winter morning. The cliffs grew lower and lower and as they reached the bushes on the nearer side of the parking lot, they dismounted and deactivated their brooms. The parking lot was a rather small space, hemmed in by wild rose bushes on two sides, road and beach making the other two, and ten or eleven cars was all it took to fill it up. They hid their brooms in the bushes and walked the rest of the way to the grocery. They were able to get most of the things in the shopping list, only not radishes. The shopkeeper suggested that they buy a humongous white root instead. He called it a daikon, and said it tasted almost like a radish.
  "We'll take it. Thank you." Susan said. "They need it for garnish. I'm sure they could dye it if it has to have red rims." Susan also paid, and together they succeeded in putting all the stuff  into the two bags they had brought along.

... to be continued.