a sad anniversary

At the time it was insignificant - now a priceless photo...

Five months ago today my mother left this life to join the most important people in her life. The problem is, she left two of us (my brother and I) here in this life. In this photo you see my mother with her husband, my father, on her right, and her mother, my grandmother, sitting below her. As we spend more time in this life, we see more clearly that who we are is a product of those who were always there for us, regardless of how we accepted it. 15 months after this photo was made, two of those in it passed on to the rest of our existence. Five months ago my mother joined them. 

I hope you have a reflective Sunday, as we come into the time of year when the environment changes so quickly. 

memories

My mother remembers her parents at their graves. Now we remember her at her grave. 

God sees the rainbow and remembers his promise to never again destroy the earth by water. 

What happens when you remember someone or something? 

Your hard drive changes the magnetized pattern, and it is remembered. But the word betrays the human process. Re-member me. Put me back into your body, into the members of your body. German uses sich erinnern - to put something  or -one inside oneself. A memory becomes a part of our self, our life, in some way. It is more than a sterile storage of a fact or row of data. 

A memory is a part of us, it participates in our life now and belongs to our person. 

And those things that are a part of us and belong to our person are all memories of some sort. 

Before you click on delete - whether on your laptop or in your real lap, consider if you want to remove this memory from your life. 

But are you even able to forget those things that are really a part of your life? So German calls a memorial statue a Denkmal - literally - think about it. 

These thoughts are very important for all of us - please re-member them. 

encore Berlin

Voilà La Fayette! A glass cylinder in the middle becomes a fashion statement...
Ludwig helps Felix select drinking pots...
Ludwig leaving the mens department wearing his purchase...
Ludwig and Felix (and I) eating in the restaurant section of La Fayette...
The Von Humbholt statue in front of the Humbholt University in central Berlin. 

What do you do in the middle of August? Go to Berlin on the weekend. That is what I did. With the high-speed train from Leipzig, I was at the main train station in Berlin on Saturday morning after only one hour of a rail jaunt. I can always go to Berlin, but this was a way to spend the weekend with Felix and Ludwig - two brothers originally from Leipzig. 

We wanted to see the Babylon exhibit at the Pergamon Museum, but the line was terribly long, so we opted for the Martin Gropius building with a museum hosting an exhibit on "the Graves of Paestum" - remnants from a temple and grave area in southern Italy. We ate Saturday at "Gorilla" - a natural food restaurant, where I discovered that gorillas only eat plants - I never knew vegetarians could get so strong and big.... 

Well, it was a wonderful weekend with shopping at La Fayette, KaDeWe, and other places. Enjoy my photos and come to Berlin! As the mayor there says, "Berlin is poor but sexy." If I go there, then both must be true...lol. 

Tagging revealed.....

I have just come in from running - how do you like the flowers? I am not talking to you through the flowers but next to them.... 

And here I finally respond to Chris' tagging. By the way, "Durch die Blume reden.." "talking through the flower" means criticizing someone in a very indirect way, something I do not do - on this blog, at least... 

A. Attached or single? Single....

B. Best Friend? Some are already departed, other still among us, and I share my apartment with one of them...

C. Cake or Pie?  Torte...

D. Day of choice? Saturday - more concerts...

E. Essential item? Tea!

F. Favorite colour? Sky Blue

G. Gummy Bears or worms? no no no...

H. Home Town? Bedford, Texas

I. Favourite indulgence?  Sachertorte

J. January or July?  January (July is too hot!) 

K. Kids?  Yes, but please don't try to repopulate the globe in one..... 

L. Life isn't complete without.... genuine love.

M. Marriage date? N/A 

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother. 

O. oranges or apples? Oranges

P. Phobias? None, really. 

Q. Quotes? Solomon from the Old Testament: "Love is stronger than Death." Amen. 

R. Reasons to smile? Every time I remember that genuine real love conquers all. 

S. Season of choice? Spring, when the sunlight has a soft golden hue and life returns. 

T. Tag 4 people: Karen, Ruth Ann, Bettina, and Randy C. in Arlington (which means he will have to get a blog...). 

U. Unknown fact about me? I am (distantly) related to Larry Hagmann (the infamous J.R.) 

V. Vegetable? Always! Vegetarians will save the environment!! 

W. Worst habit? I imitate musical sounds of elevators and other machines that serve us in daily life. 

X. Xray or ultrasound? sonar.

Y. Your favourite food? real sourdough bread and a real French baguette. 

Z. Zodiay sign? Capricorn, but I do not believe in Astrology. 

How do you like my geraniums? In Texas the heat makes it impossible to grow them, but here it's easy....

I have been tagged by Chris in Austin, so I will get this over with quickly, since I am going to the movies in a few hours to see "The Elephant King" - a movie about two brothers, one living in Thailand and the other back home in the US. You guess why the movie interests me.... 

c'est la vie en Europe... 

And I can't seem to cut and paste my answers into the little window - what a bother.... so I will have to do it later....