Z comme Zorro

Don Diego de la Vega est-il passé par là?

A comme Amour et Amitié

God Alla Hjärtans Dag

Guten Valentinstag

Happy Valentine's Day

Hyvää ystävanpäivää

Joyeux St Valentin

J is for Job

I don't know the three men I saw discussing on the quay the other they, I don't know what they were talking about, but nowadays a lot of people talk about their job, and also about the absence of a job.

There are two ways of approaching a job when you don't have one.

One is to say," I must qualify for the job", the other is , "The job must qualify for me".

Combining both would be nice. And keeping that job today would be even nicer.

Ö för ösregn

Ösregn. Cats and dogs på engelska. Några katter såg jag inte och inga hundar heller, men vatten kom det så att det inte hann rinna undan, utan bildade små sjöar framför huset. Vägen upp till och ner från huset såg ut som en fors, och grannen, han som äger vägen och står för dess underhåll, stod i dörröppningen och såg olycklig ut. Han har tydligen inte förstått att vattnet tar den lättaste vägen för att rinna bort.

Ü für übersetzen

Wenn wir ausländische alte Schlösser besuchen, und etwas zu wissen wollen, ist es möglich dass wir Übersetzung wünschen.

Das Schloss von Acquigny in Frankreich war in 1557 für Anne de Montmorency-Laval, Witwe von Louis de Silly, zu errichten angefangt.

Heute können wir das schönes Schloss, dass bei dem Fluss Eure placiert ist, besuchen.

Ich habe es noch nicht getan.

Ä för ätbart

Även om de stora köpcentra drar åt sig stora kundmängder, i synnerhet i de mindre städerna och på landsbygden där det är ont om små butiker, finns det ännu små specialiserade affärer där man kan få råd om vilka tomater man skall välja, och vilka grönsaker som är bäst för tillfället.

Där klämmer man inte på melon eller avokado, utan personalen står för valet, plockar in grönsakerna och frukterna i papperspåsar och tar emot betalningen.

Däremot kan man inte köpa bröd eller ost i grönsakshandeln.

N for Nefertiti

Moumoune's daughter Nefertiti is the laziest pf cats. She likes to sleep on the sofa all day long, but she still allows me to wake her up with some whipped cream. She finds it delicious, even more so than scallops.

I am sure that Nefertiti gets all the sleep she needs and wants, but she is not.

This is my last participation in Mrs Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday. I started with O for Oh no in October 2007 and have succeeded in not forgetting one single letter. I couldn't do it anymore.

I have even made the Swedish å for åsna as a complementary post. Of course I could still make a post for the Nordic letters ä and ö, but maybe not on a Wednesday.

From now on I'll be as lazy as Nefertiti and forget all about the alphabet. Miaow!

M for Mama Moumoune

Moumoune was a little pussycat of some six months when she (not it) found her way to the house in October 1996 all by herself.

Today, and tomorrow, and all the month of May we celebrate her twelfth birthday. Already!

I haven't regretted for one single moment that we opened the door when she insisted upon being let in.

I hope that she hasn't regretted it either.

L for love

Mr Duck is accompanied by two of his loving women, the legitimate one and, four steps behind, "just a friend".

Spring is here, and love is in the air.

Soon there will be many baby ducks everywhere.

K for kettle

When did it change?

Not so long ago you bought the coffee in beans and ground them yourself in a hand powered mill.

You put the coffee and water in a kettle and all was boiled together. Sometimes the kettle remained on the fire for hours.

Today you buy your coffee in capsules.

J for Jonquil

What are the jonquils looking at?

Shouldn't they do like other flowers and turn their head towards the sun shining from a blue sky?

And what's the photographer doing on the ground?

I admit, it wasn't very easy to make them look at the camera so I had to do some tricks in order to make them listen to me, to smile and not to move in the cold wind.

Say cheese! Please!

I for Indoor Ideas

I wonder if HPY will come out and play with me when the weather gets better.

Sometimes she does. One of my favourite games is to cath birds and bring them to her.

Then she lets them go so that I can catch them again. It's so funny.

It must be one of her favourite games too, as she never keeps the birds for herself.

And she encourages me all the time, shouting my name, Nefertiti! We have a wonderful time, playing together.

H for Hyacinth

In spite of the strong winds that have been blowing for several days, the hyacinths have started blooming.

They may have suffered from rain and flying twigs, they still tend to get more and more beautiful every day.

Before having a garden myself I associated their scent with Christmas. Today they show the way to spring, as do the winds and the rain.

G for Gift

When my father celebrated his 60th birthday more than forty years ago he received a painting representing the old cloister church of Vallis Gratiae.

I have recently became owner of this painting which is now hanging on the wall in the guest room.

It reminds me of the time I spent across the bay, listening to the music coming in from Vallis Gratiae in the quiet summer evenings.

F for Felonious

I Felt like imitating Mr England with his E for England the Former week, but the problem is, I have never been Miss Finland, nor Miss France!

And lying is Forbidden. Or is it? Finally, why make such a Fuss about it?

***

I almost Forgot. Mari from Kameravene gave me an E on Monday. Even though the E came Five days too late for last week's ABC Wednesday I wish to Formulate her my Full gratitude!



I'm still Fiddling with the thruth. The E is for HPY bis.

(Do visit Mari's blog. She has beautiful Fotos From the Gulf of Finland.)

E for Empty

Why have my ideas evaporated?
Where have they escaped?
Been expulsed or ejected?
Even eliminated?
Eradicated?
Ebbed out?
Engulfed
Erased?
Eroded?
Is this the end?

***

No epilogue!

D for Drawers

I live in a house big enough for two adults and as many cats, but as often there is not enough space for putting things away.

Recently I acquired this quite simple dresser with three drawers, and I immediately installed it in the bedroom where it's simpleness doesn't disturb my dreams.

The knobs are imitating gold and the glassware upon the dresser is of Finnish design.

Simple things are best.

C for Camouflage

I hadn't shown a decorated water tower since late December, and I almost missed this one as it disappeared in the sky.

The painter had used a concealment stratagem to hide the water tower. Apparently camouflage can be used also in pacific means.

It needed an expert eye to discover the concrete tower in the middle of the clouds.

If ever you find the little village of Houquetot you can start looking for the clouds and maybe find some water. Let's hope that it will not pour down on you.

B for Bright Burning lights

Yesterday I had to drive to Rouen early in the morning. I woke up at 5.30 AM and about an hour later I was on my way. I didn't speed. There was some fog, and I wasn't that in a hurry.

About halfway I had to stop at a bright red light, a good excuse to take a picture through the windscreen, as usual.

I wasn't exactly driving, or was I? (Don't tell anyone that I took a picture of the bright burning green light a few seconds later, already on my way....)

Å för åsna

Alltsedan ABC-onsdagen, den på engelska alltså, kommit till bokstaven z har jag gått omkring och letat efter en åsna för att kunna fortsätta med den så svenska bosktaven å. För ä och ö går det ju med andra språk också.

Att sitta instängd på sitt jobb största delen av veckan gör naturligtvis inte saken lättare.

Men då jag igår kom att stå nos mot näsa med en verklig åsna slog jag mig för pannan och tänkte : Det hade allt gått snabbare med ett självporträtt!