.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Thursday! 

This is my son’s Curious George face. He will turn three in October. Wow, time flies. Petit Joel asks so many questions, wants explanations and discovers every single day. It is fun to watch how his personality shapes, how he grows up. He is so gentle, loving, connected and usually peaceful. He always wakes up happy. I just cannot wait to get to know the man he will become – but I feel I already know him.  Oh yes – it is great to be Joel Henry for one day. Le husband and I agree on this every single day when I send him pictures of us and our day. How good he has it; eating cake in the park, spending time at the playground, enjoying life. Just living the good life! 

Today, we had a doctor’s appointment in the morning and sat in the waiting room for quite some time. Other people and kids came and went. Joel was fine however. He played on the slide and painted a bit. Then the door opened and a family of three walked in. The woman, completely in burqa, sat down. Her husband and little son next to her. Silence. Actually, the entire room fell silent. The kids stopped playing. My son has seen women in a hijab before, but I don’t think he has ever seen a woman in a burqa. I raise my son very tolerant and he is good-hearted. The old woman at the corner is not a witch, gay people kissing is not yuk or disgusting; disabled people are okay – and if someone is in a wheelchair he hurt his leg very badly and cannot walk anymore. Tattoos are fine as well as  purple hair. As far as the burqa goes: I was not prepared at all! 

So while we sat in the crowded waiting room my son got more and more interested in this “ghost” as he called her. “What is underneath, Mommy,” he asked. “Is it a ghost? Why is she wearing this”, he wondered. Of course, he did not whisper. He yelled, pointing at her. Everyone was staring anyway, since the family walked in. But now, even the last child was quiet. Honestly, I was put on the spot and could not come up with any plausible explanation that would made sense to him. And of course I did not want to offend the family in any way. Live and let live! To each his own! At this point, my son tried to see what is underneath the burqa and tried to lift it up at her legs. I smiled at both apologetically and pulled my son away. The entire time, I could not see her eyes. They were hidden behind a grill or mesh of the veil. It was strange in a way considering I don’t like when somebody talks to me with sunglasses on. You know what a burqa is? Here a little Headgear 101: 

What happens once you tell your kids NOT to do something? Yep, they go right for it. He was still pretty determined at this point to find out who this ghost is. Then he wanted to be a ghost himself and asked me for a sheet to cover him. My only way to stop this was to take him outside. The waiting room was pretty full anyway, so other mothers waited outside too. I told a woman who laughed at what just happened in the waiting room while I dragged my son out and tried to calm him down. He still wanted to see the ghost one last time. To my surprise the woman said that she thinks that “if these people need to dress like this, they should stay in their country. We are in Germany after all. They should ban these women from walking around like this. And honestly, who wants to walk around with a burqa when it’s 33 degrees Celsius outside?” 

I thought about this for quite a while. Again, to each his own. But how do I explain a burqa to my three year-old son? This was my try:

“Listen my love, people are different. Some like to dress in pink, some in black, some in blue. It is like flowers, they are all different too. Different colors, shapes, but they are all pretty and we are all human beings.”

It seemed like he understood. At least he stopped calling her a ghost and trying to get back into the room. Win-win for now, I would say. 

What do you think? What would you have said?  Should I have apologized more? Do you think she should have maybe lifted the vail for a second to show my son that she is not a ghost?  

Stone pyramids. The perfect hiding spot for insects and small animals

Hello and Happy Monday! 

“Ein stabiles Netz braucht möglichst viele Knoten. Knoten sind definiert durch eine Vielzahl von unterschiedlichen Tieren und Pflanzen. Diese treten durch in der Nature erprobte und sinnvolle Beziehungen zueinander in Kontakt”

My parents have been into permaculture for a long time. They try new things, go to lectures and do tons of research to make their garden as beautiful as possible and of course to benefit from it. Since I am in Germany I learned a lot from them already and looked through their plethora of books on gardening, permaculture and to become as self-sufficient as possible. We planted and harvested together and tried to figure out how to get the most out of their 2 acres garden. They also mentioned Markus Gastl, gave me his books and I read “Drei-Zonen-Garten” and “Ideenbuch Nützlingshotels” with delight. If you are into gardening and trying to change things around a bit and don’t necessarily like to have the traditional English Lawn but more or less “a controlled chaos” you should read those books! 

Also if your attitude is “back to nature” and you like to stay away from chemicals (RoundUp, Monsanto and whatnot), Markus Gastl is the person to talk to and learn from. He loves Variety, Beauty and Benefit when he talks about his garden. I asked him about his fantastic experience when he rode his bicycle for 2 1/2 years and about 41,843 km total through Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, USA and Canada. Say whaaaat? Pretty amazing, right? And of course whenever a conversations comes to Canada, I am all ears. I love this country so much. So much that le husband and I bought land there. “Markus Gastl, my new guru, has to help me with some projects, give me insight and ideas, ” I thought, while I had one of the most eye-opening conversations with him. When he came back from his long trip, his heart was filled with  so many great impressions and experiences that he had the urge to give something back to nature. With created, built and planted his own garden. Hurtus insectorum – The Garden of Insects! Read more about his projects and the trip on his website. 

Here are some picture of one of his garden we visited on Sunday – Hortus Felix. 

Permaculture? What is it?

Basically, to fairly take care of the earth and the people. When done right, it can provide a somewhat guiding spirit to the tending and creation of your own land.

Markus Gastl invented the “Drei-Zonen-Garten? What is it? 

It is important to work with nature and not against and have a little dialogue with it here and there. Do you want the average garden that most people have and use pesticides to get rid of weeds? Spending time in the garden should be fun and not be seen as a burden. My grandmother used to say whenever she was in my parent’s garden that “no matter how sad I feel, this garden makes me happy. It seems like it has something healing.”  

If you are fortunate to own a garden, wouldn’t  you love to have a little paradise as soon as you step outside of the house? With bees buzzing everywhere, flowers, butterflies and other animals that love to stop by in your garden? How awesome are these hotels for insects for example? We could hear a lot of buzzing and saw little bugs crawling all over. Fantastic! 

Surprisingly fast and easy are the steps you need to take to grow vegetables, have a beautiful flower garden and so much more. It is actually less work than maintaining a sterile, clean garden. 

I love the Staketenzaun! Great idea! A little expensive to purchase but lasts forever! 

Benjes Hecke. I learned that I don’t need to throw anything away that grew and is already on my land! 

Overall, I learned a lot. If you ever get a chance to visit Markus Gastl’s gardens, do so! What an inspirational day! Markus, thank you again for taking your time to answer some of my questions. Hope to stay in touch. 

 Visit Markus Gastl’s website. Click here. Connect with him on Facebook, click here. 

Are you as new to permaculture as I am? Are you interested in permaculture? I would love to hear from you, connect and exchange experiences. Of course, once we start working on our land, I will document it all. Permaculture, especially in Canada: How does it work? 

“twenty more minutes and i’ll have made it through this entire night without talking to any–
fuck, fuck, the dog sees me”

Hello and Happy Friday! 

“In the end, we will all become our stories” – Margaret Atwood. 

Do you want to see more artwork with hilarious captions like above? Visit this website.  I caught myself spending way too much time at The Toast. Great articles. Why do I spent so much time online?  It is raining in Germany. Every single day. It is not cold but unpleasant to be outside. To entertain a child inside every single day is tough but we managed pretty well. Today, we spent hours at the Indoor Playground and Petit Joel had a blast. You think he might be tired at this point – but nope. He is up, reading with his tiny flashlight; however, he is quiet. What do I have to do to get this kid tired and exhausted? After going up and down the slide over fifty times, I am done, hah! What I have been up to otherwise, read on if you would like. Enjoy! 

Reading: I re-read Sam Harris’s Waking Up which I enjoy so much. Even more the second time. If you are into spiritual enlightenment or simply want to figure out some things about you, read this book. Spirituality without religion! Currently I am reading Simple Matters by Erin Boyle. This book just adds up to a plethora of books on minimalism I have read. It is a good read for sure. Next, on my reading list is:  Empire Falls by Richard Russo. 

Watching: For some reason it is Meg Ryan-week for me. I love her. Give me any movie she is in and I watch it. Some are cheesy, but she is just cute and a great actor I think. So I re-watched When Harry Met Sally. Watch the entire in okay quality for free here.  What a great story. I also watched When a Man Loves a Woman. Beautiful! Just watch the opening scene to get hooked. 

I also watched Woody Allen: A Documentary. I love him. 

Discovering/Learning:  San Geladona Eis Shop in Coburg. You like ice cream and are in Coburg? Visit this place that recently opened at Albertsplatz 3 in Coburg for some gelato. Yum!

Hangover? We have all been there, right? Pounding headache, feeling nauseous and whatnot? I try to avoid these mornings at any cost; first of all because I don’t like this feeling and I have my son to take care off during the night and the next day. Party time is over to some regard – which I am fine with. What to do when you have a hangover? I have tried a bunch of hangover remedies over the years. Some say coffee, pain medication, Coca Cola, sports drinks or greasy food helps. Then I found out about Charcoal. Read more about it here but “activated charcoal capsules work as a digestive aid and essentially absorb dissolved chemicals (i.e. alcohol) as they pass through the body”. If you take charcoal all the time it can cause constipation. [Well, who wants to be drunk every night and take charcoal, right?]  I am not a doctor. It’s always a good idea to check with your care provider before taking supplements.

There is this great art exhibit by Katharina Grosse I would like to see in Baden Baden. Check it out here. 

Are Galaxy Desserts the next trend? 

I discovered Desa ‘Rae L. Stage, her website and photographic talents. She is amazing. Check out her website here. 

ZAZ amazing new album. Listen to it here on Spotify. If you don’t have Spotify, INSTALL SPOTIFY. 

We all know MOBY! Check out this amazing song:

His book The memoir is already on my to-read list. The band Massive Attack is amazing. Not discovered recently, but re-listened over an over again. Massive Attack – Teardrop.  

“maybe if i keep covering more of my face with my hands
he’ll forget i’m here
and go away”

Magic City – The Art of the Street. 

Thinking About: An argument I had with someone. This argument made no sense but I could not and cannot get to her at all. She has her points and fews. Maybe things will change again, maybe not. Let’s see. 

Looking Forward to: Traveling. I always look forward to traveling because it is great and makes me happy. The anticipation, packing, leaving and discovering. Canada next! I am also looking forward to see Vaxxed – The Movie. Should be interesting. 

Have a great weekend!