Pretty in Pink

Just Joey

Gone fishing (or whatever...). Will be back next week. Till then, please enjoy my favorite rose "Just Joey". :-)

Kym.

Just Joey

De Dom

De Dom, the symbol of the city of Utrecht, is the highest church tower (112m/approx. 367ft?) in the Netherlands. You have to climb the 465 steps to reach the top observatory as it has no elevator or escalator. But believe me, it’s worth the knee-killing climbing because, when the weather is right, you have a real awesome view up there over the Province of Utrecht (and even further!). De Dom is “the heart” of Utrecht in the literal and figurative sense. Having been out of town, I come back to Utrecht and see De Dom welcoming me – then I feel at home, nice and safe.

De Dom/Dom Tower

A little next to naked...

Broadway – the capital of entertainment. Well, this was on Times Square. When I was hurrying from my hotel on the 47th St. to Dave’s (6th Av., 16th St.) to buy me a few pairs of Levi’s, I heard people – mostly ladies – screaming. Gosh, a very little next to naked man with a guitar there in the middle of the square! I – a shy, innocent Japanese woman - would not dare to walk up to him, ran instead 2 streets further down and took this pic in haste. The lady in the red shirt does not seem very charmed, though. He would not have to take his Levi’s off for me to get my attention, y’know. He IS quite good looking…(then, clothes on – an old washed white T and an old blue jeans - , please! ).

BTW, I read in the paper the other day that a pair of plain white cotton socks were taboo for a man of 2004. Why? I like those white socks… Anyone else?

A little next to naked...

An odd couple

People often ask me if Fox, a bullterrier, and my cats (Pip + Ponta) can get along together. The answer is: yes. Especially Fox and Pip are good buddies. They are often playing with (and chasing) each other. Here, enjoying the warm autumn sun together. I have to admit, though, that they form a kind of "odd couple".

Fox + Pippie

Prins Clausbrug revisited

It was a very fine autumn day today, the Sun was shining, the sky was clear blue, no clouds were to be seen. I went with Fox again to Prins Clausbrug, and this time we walked over the bridge. Borya, BTW, surprisingly Fox was willing to walk! Well, it's a fav course of him and it makes the difference, I think. And also, since Fox has spent a few days with the Hutchinsons, he seems now to like walking - anyway, much more than he used to. The Hutchinson kids did a great job!

Prins Clausbrug/Prince Claus Bridge at dusk


Sunset view from Prins Clausbrug

Kasumi in Paris

My friend in Paris, Kasumi, has just created her own blog. She is an experienced journalist/writer, has got very beautiful pictures and interesting stories to share with us. I'm sure you like the first photo she posted... isn't it special?

Autumn leaves

I swept the autumn leaves today... But then I thought, why should I bother?

Autumn leaves



...because there are still a lot more to fall....

Autumn trees

A police vehicle

Just as cute as my "Tommy"... no, not the officer (sorry!) but the vehicle.

NYPD vehicle

А где ты?

---------

Ох покроет бережок
Лебедой – осокою.
Ну приходи скорей, дружок,
Посидим, поокоем.

Хорошо, ай хорошо.
Хорошо бы, хорошо
Целоваться вволю,
Только чего меня ты не нашёл, а?
Заблудился что ли?

Или ты к другой пошёл
По траве некошенной?
Хорошо то хорошо...
Да ничего хорошего.

---------

Prins Clausbrug/Prince Claus Bridge

Yesterday I went for a walk with Fox along Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal (Amsterdam-Rhine Canal), one of Fox’s fav walking courses. This bridge, Prins Clausbrug (opened last year) is designed by another renowned Dutch architect Ben van Berkel. To be honest, I always found this bridge a bit too “inorganic”. But yesterday, I saw it just before the dusk, coloured slightly pinkish orange by the sunset glow….. it was beautiful! Pity, I didn’t have my camera with me. Here are the photos I found on the net. …I like his shirt!

Prins Clausbrug


Ben van Berkel

Another percussion instrument

...Another old habit of mine: taking a pic of drums. I don't know the name of this percussion instrument, though. It's Turkish, I think (or Moroccan? Dunno)

Doira

Doira - an Uzbek drum, one of the instruments Ron (Wagner) plays. To visit Tashkent and Samarkand is still on my list. But I don't know when....

Ellen's Kitchen

My friends, Ellen + Ted, invited me to dinner tonight. I had such a great time with them, talked + laughed a lot. We are kind of united by love for Mediterranean kitchen, garlic + chili pepper. We often exchange recipes, too. Ellen is, as you can see here, a tremendous cook! Ted's pizza, BTW, is "to die for", too.

Starter - Quiche with leek, mascarpone + olives


Colourful salad with feta + walnuts


Main dish - Bucatini with garlic + chili pepper oil with sundried tomatoes


Dessert - Turkish yoghurt with fresh fruits + honey


Hmmmmm, what a delightful evening it was... Thanks, E+T!

For Mother Earth...

"Let's hope, for Mother Earth, that today's yesterday is not tomorrow's goodbye"(Rickey Medlocke)

...
Here comes the rain
And it might wash her tears away
But it doesn't change a thing
Like my brother before me
All I can do is write this song
And for her I sing

Chances come and when they're gone
They carve in stone what we've done wrong

So let's take care of what we have
Before the good we know goes bad
And the beauty fades and just slips away
The dirty air, the dying seas
Will this be the world we leave
To the wild and young
I said, just look at what we've done
And right before our eyes
Today's yesterday
Will be tomorrow's goodbye
...

(from "Tomorrow's Goodbye"/Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Potatopak

What do you think.... I would feel more comfortable with throwing litter in a litter bin.... Okay, I would feel even more comfortable then, if the litter is biodegradable. Hey, but in this case, why don't we eat up the whole dinnerware? Then we have no litter at all!

If you’re picnicking New Zealand, feel free to throw plates, trays and bowls into the bushes afterwards. That’s because a New Zealand firm, Potatopak Ltd., makes biodegradable dinnerware the starch produced when potatoes are processed into French fries. The British publication Positive News (Summer 2004) reports that the company has received various awards for its products and was designated as one of the five most “exciting” companies in New Zealand. For more information: www.potatoplates.com.

from ODE magazine

My 500

I post this photo only to see how Flickr works.....
This is not exactly the same model as my lovely tomato-red-500, which I named "Tommy". My Tommy is from '72, and needs to be repaired..... sob :-(

My lovely Baby

Uncle Sam says...

Still dreaming....

Zzzzzz........ hhhhmmmmm....

Still dreaming....

Candles

I like candles. They create a nice and warm atmosphere. The room looks suddenly different in the candlelight. I can watch the movement of the light and shadow for hours... Today I lit the candles again, but not for the atmosphere or warmth this time, it was a pure, simple necessity because a lighting tube was not working.... sigh.…

The candles

Pinch me!

I can hardly believe that he was there….. He was, wasn't he? Um...I was there, or not? Although I'm picking up my daily routine now, it feels like I'm still dreaming.… Was it real or just my fantasy? Pinch me! (Dream or real, it was such a special experince to see/hear OL+LN perfoming live!)

OL