Household Shopping

The other day, we started buying household items for our retirement house in the Philippines. Our first stop is at Roller where we bought 2 clothes hanger and other stuff


Nearby is the cash and carry store of Edeka where we bought some toiletries and cleaning detergents


Our next stop is at Obi where we bought some household tools.

We bought 35 meters of curtain material and table cloth at Afelt in Oberkirch

The Gas of Life

Gasoline is the bloodline that keeps the world moving, and tracking gas prices can feel like a roller coaster ride. Price increases generally occur when the world crude-oil market tightens and lowers inventories. And because of the increase in gasoline price, we converted our car to LPG for the same reason as others: LPG is cheaper.

Look at the price of LPG gas compared to the normal gasoline prices. Our full tank is just more than 20 euro, and with the present economic crisis, whatever we save is a big help for our other household expenses.

Dorf Fest with Duck Race

The small village near our place also have a dorf fest last weekend. There's also some food, beer and cake stalls but not as big as the nussbach and nesselried fest.


The highlight of the feast is the annual duck race wherein 1000 yellow plastic ducks
with numbers were thrown into the small river.

On the stage are musicians entertaining the locals.

The weather is nice and the kids enjoyed playing under the bridge

Harvest Time

I was born and raised in the congested city of manila. My wish of having a nice garden and to experience life in the farm is just in my head. But being here in germany for eight years change my life's perspective.

Germany is a beautiful country because of its vast nature and greenery. Yesterday, i have the opportunity to experience harvesting fruits called mirabelle plum at my best friend's garden. Joy had a green thumb and aside from nice flowers, she also had plants and trees that produced fruits and vegetables. She also make marmalade or jams out of the fruits she harvested.

Black Forest Trip

The Black Forest in Germany is one of the best places to explore some of the natural beauty the country has to offer. This forest acquired its name due to a large concentration of pine trees which causes it to look quite dark from a distance. Additionally, the nearby mountains can cast their shadows over the valleys and further serve to darken it.

With mutti's last day of visit, we marked the day by driving to the black forest and its just like driving to Baguio with its zigzag road leading to the mountain. We first visit the hotel Bareiss which is one of germany's best where we have our lunch.

On the way down, we stopped at the ruined monastery and the chapel. It's colder up there and our summer attire is not the best outfit for walking to the nearby waterfalls.



On the way home, mutti bought some wines, a present for her best friend and son Klaus, when she returned to Koln tomorrow.

Elections

The 17th German federal election is scheduled for 27 September 2009 and will be held to elect the members of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. It is the final and most important election in what is called a Superwahljahr (super election year). Election here in Germany is more peaceful and organized because of poll automation.

As millions of Filipinos are looking forward to the coming May 10, 2010 elections, candidates are now making their presence felt in billboards and also on social gatherings. Actually its my birthday, so millions of my countrymen will exercise their rights, they will go out not to attend to my celebration but to vote.

Photo credits-Pinoy Herald

Donating Old Clothes

For dirk and me, donating old clothes to charity is a great idea for many reasons. You will feel good knowing that needy families can get good use out of our old clothes. It's also a great way to re-organize our closets and drawers. It takes a little bit of our time to go through our clothing and prepare it for donating, but it is well worth the effort.

Donating old clothes can be especially helpful to society as people who need affordable clothing often have access to donated clothes. Here in Germany, the red cross group put plastic bags in our mailbox with pick up schedule. For me, i just drive to the nearest drop point if i have clothes for donation.

Some charitable agency also placed pail in each houses for old clothes and shoes.