Picking a movie is hard to do.

Hallo meine Lieben,

second post for this month....I am on fire.  Feels good to be back in the game. So, I read about this film challenge on my friend Erin's blog and I thought that participating would help to make myself watch more movies this time. I never really find the time. So yeah, now I have to. You can read everything about the challenge here. 

Pinterest - love this movie by the way. 

And here are my picks...

one. any set in new york city. - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

two. any incorporating hot air balloons in the story. - Up

three. any featuring a child as the main character. - Stand by me

four. any disney film. - Frankenweenie

five. any set in egypt OR have an egyptian character OR star an egyptian actor/actress. -Night at the museum ( I decided to let it count)

six. a close friend or family member's favorite film. - Wild

seven. any with the word great in the title. - The Great Gatsby (I wanted to pick The Great Mouse Detective but it's against the rules because I have already seen it. )

eight. any starring harrison ford. - I would love to pick the new Star Wars movie but the challenge ends November 30. And because I have only seen the first Indiana Jones so far I will watch one of the others. 

nine. any featuring an idiot as the main character.  - Our Idiot Brother

ten. any mentioned in levis strauss' list: denim in the oscars: a look at jeans in cinema. - Brokeback Mountain

eleven. a film about a knight. - A Knight's Tale

twelve. a love story. - Before Midnight

thirteen. a movie about something miraculous. -  Michael

fourteen. any starring an actor/actress with the same first name as yours. - Tammy. I could not find an actress named Katrin so I chose Kathy Bates. That's close. 

fifteen. a film about the olympics. - I love Cool Runnings by the way. But it must be a new to me movie which is why I have to pick Munich. 

sixteen. a film on time magazine's list: the top ten newspaper movies. - Zodiac (Another newspaper movie I want to watch is True Story but it is not on the list)

seventeen. any with a question in the title. - Dude, where's my car? (Yeah, seriously. Couldn't think of anything else)

eighteen. any with a score of ninety percent or greater on rotten tomatoes. - Paddington

nineteen. a film about a superhero. - Guardians of the Galaxy

twenty. any with subtitles. - The Swedish version of The Girl Who Played With Fire

twenty-one. any incorporating unicorns in the story. - Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ( I am sure that will be my new all time favorite)

twenty-two. a film about a personal victory. - The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

twenty-three. a film with black or white in the title. - (No, not Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle) Snow White and The Huntsman (maybe I will watch Harold and Kumar anyway). I cannot come up with a good one here - help! 

twenty-four. any set in a country you would most like to visit. - The Keeper of Lost Causes

twenty-five. a film set in a zoo. - I like animal sanctuaries. Most zoos are not very good places. So I am cheating here and I choose Forks Over Knives because I care about animals. 


Do you have any better ideas? Please share! 

Have a lovely day!

Oh...hey...yeah....hmm....it's me.

Hey meine Lieben,

yeah, it's me. I have not posted anything in an embarrassing amount of time but the plan is to finally write something again on a regular basis. No kidding. So I hope there are some of you left and maybe even happy to read me again. I am really fond of this blog of mine and I want to give it the attention it deserves, with a greater variety of topics. Also, there is a need to change this old design so I am hoping to find time for this soon. I really do not enjoy looking at my blog. But anyway, here I am. Life went on and I tried to keep up with your blogs at least but I have to admit that I am a bit behind on that as well. But I have not forgotten about you. 

Pinterest

Things that are going on....

- I am currently reading "Will travel for vegan food" by Kristen Lajeunesse which is very inspiring to do something inspiring. Exactly what I need right now. I am truly enjoying this book because it's a mix of vegan food and traveling but the focus is much more on the traveling part which is a blessing in my opinion. I started this book a long time ago and had to give it a break but now I am back and almost done. Guess I will finish it today. Anybody interested in a review? Or book reviews in general? Not sure if I should give it a go. 

Update - just finished the book and loved it very very much. 

- I am weirdly fascinated by the announcement of the Full House reunion. I feel like I have to watch it once it is on tv. I truly loved that show as a kid although Stephanie was always pretty annoying....but at least there was Kimmy. And Comet, the dog. 

- I feel like I will have to buy a new laptop in the new future. Not really excited about this. 

I also need a new printer. Electronic devices do not like me very much. 

- There's a tiny brown mouse living in my backyard and once it gets dark, she comes out to get some cat food out of the bowl for the neighborhood cats. I can watch her for hours carrying cat food to her hiding place. I provided some mouse-appropriate food though. I don't think cat food is the best diet for a mouse. I named her Bertha. 

- I have not worn dungarees in many years but I feel like I want to wear one again.

- My pile of books to read is growing and growing. Also thanks to my wonderful and thoughtful friends Erin, Martha and Em. I love you guys!

- I am considering to cut my hair off again. A final decision has not been made yet. 

- I love discovering new vegan goodies so I recently tried some all vegan Prinzenrolle-like cookies (basically two round cookies with a chocolate cream in the middle), vish filet (so good that I wanted to buy more but they were all sold out!), rice milk quinoa chocolate, a frozen curry (I usually do not eat frozen meals at all but I had to try this one. Never saw a vegan frozen meal in the store before), peppermint chocolate (a combination I usually do not even like but the package looked great), some nugget-y kind of things....seeing the large vegan selection in the stores nowadays really makes me happy.

- I need one of these vacuum cleaner robot things. I always get excited when I see them. 

So, what's new with you? Read you soon - I promise. 

Piles and piles of books.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I know, I know. It's been forever. I have so many ideas and things I want to talk about, I just never find the time. But I do need to take the time. That's for sure. I love reading your blogs but I need to come up with some content myself. 

It's not a secret that I am a bookworm. So I am pretty ashamed to say that I am far behind my Goodreads reading challenge goal. As you can see, I do not find the time for blogging or for books. I do try to squeeze in some time here and there....for example during lunch. But it nearly isn't enough. Which means that I started a bunch of books but haven't finished many recently. 

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But here are the books I am currently reading. More or less. 

This is me reading, by the way. 

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Will Travel for Vegan Food by Kristin Lejeunesse

  When I heard about the existence of this book I had to get it immediately. It was impossible to get the paperback in Germany by the way so I bought the ebook. It's about a woman who travels through America in a van trying all the vegan food options she can find. So it is a book about traveling and vegan food. You could only top this by adding a feline sidekick to the story but I guess that is more than I can ask for. I am almost finished with this one ( so there is still a silver lining on the horizon for me) and I am loving it. I definitely recommend this book, even when you are not vegan. 









Verheißung by Jussi Adler-Olsen

I think this one is called "The Hanging Girl" in English and will get published in September. I love all the Department Q novels which is why it almost killed me to wait for the 6th book. So I am reading this one very slowly. On purpose. Because I do not want to be without a Carl Mørck crime novel again. That might not make sense to anybody but I guess it only has to make sense for me. I want to check out the movies, I think there are two so far. But I am scared that they might not be as good as I hope. Plus Carl Mørck does not look at all the way I imagined him. Why do they do that to me. But yeah, if you like crime novels and have not read the Department Q novels yet, then you have to start immediately. Please. 







Verwesung by Simon Beckett

This one is called "The Calling of the Grave" in English and it's the 4th book (and so far the last) of the David Hunter series. David Hunter is a forensic anthropologist who has the tendency to go on my nerves here and there but his cases are really interesting, really brutal and they also make me feel like I can learn something while reading. The third book clearly was the weakest of the series for me so I am having high hopes for this one. I am only 100 pages in so far and I surely hope that there will be a 5th book at some point but I could not find any information about it. This one is about a psychotic rapist and serial killer so it surely sounds promising. And maybe no animal has to die in this one. There are too many dead animals in the other books, especially the first one. Something that always bothers me. 







Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy

As a crazy cat (and bunny) lady I love to watch the show My Cat From Hell so I wanted to learn more about that cool dude who goes to the houses of strange people to help them with their cats. I want Jackson to come to my house and meet my cats.  Even though they are not from hell. That guy has been through a lot in his life and it clearly is fascinating to read about it. I definitely want to check out his book "Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat" as well. That guy wears shirts that say "Real men love cats" so what's not to love here?











So those are only 4 of the books I am reading right now. If we are Goodreads friends (add me!) then you can see that there are more. 

There also are huge piles of books in my living room and bed room which are waiting for me to start reading them. I really have no idea when to read them all plus I cannot stop myself from buying new books. So of course, if you have any recommendations, keep them coming!
The books on my piles include:
Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller, The Humans by Matt Haig, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller and so many books more that I need to go and buy a new bookshelf as soon as possible. 

What are you currently reading?
Have a lovely Sunday!

Get to know your fellow bloggers - Lissa

Hallo meine Lieben,

today I want to introduce you to my wonderful friend Lissa, who is a fabulous artist and a fantastic, smart and incredibly great person. If you have not met her yet, you should totally check out her blog postcards from the rain. 

A while ago Lissa asked me if I would be willing to answer some questions for a series on her blog called "Get to know your fellow bloggers" and of course I felt very honored that she asked me. And because I loved her questions so much I asked her if she would be willing to answer the same questions for my blog (which was of course pretty lazy of me because Lissa came up with all the good questions but I thought it makes more sense to answer the same questions and not different ones). So you can find my answers and Lissa's brilliant work on her blog. 

But here are her questions and answers:

About your blog:



01/ How many blogs do you have that are currently active?

One - postcards from the rain - although it's another new blog.




02/ What is your blog about? Do you have a tag line?

This and that and some art and photographs and some fiction. But lately, I've been posting mostly artwork. There's no tag line but if I was to have one, it would be this: art + life + other stuff.


03/ Is your blog a reflection of you or just a place for your creative/personal outlet?

It's both but I rarely post about personal stuff and there is the occasional things of interest.


04/ How did you come up with the name for your blog?

I had a previously blog titled 'postcards from the clouds' and thought why not use 'rain'? These days, I usually like the word 'rain' somewhere in my blog title.


05/ Do you have a blogroll or a reading list of your favorite blogs? If not, then what blogs do you like reading?

Yes, I have a blogroll that I update a lot. It's here: http://postcardsfromtherain.blogspot.com/p/favorites.html




06/ What category or categories do you think your blogs falls under? 

I would not like to categorize my blog because whatever I post might change but I guess it would an art blog if I have to choose.


07/ Do you have a blogging schedule or do you post any time you like?

No schedule, I just post whenever I have something or when I feel there is too much time in between posts. It would certainly be easier to have a schedule but then again, I could not really stick to a schedule. I have a habit of straying from schedules because it feels like work.


08/ Do you use a blog template (brought or free from the net) or do you design your own blog? 

Once in a while, I would use someone's design but mostly I just do it myself because I'm fickle and I know I'm hard to please, so it's easier to do it myself.


09/ List 3 things that you always have on your blog. 

(1) A introduction page which I titled, 'hello', (2) a blogroll page because I like reading blogs directly and (3) a footer with a little story about a fish which I doubt people reads but I like having it there.


10/ What advice did you wish someone had given to you when you first started blogging?

There are so many things that I wished that someone had told me about but I guess one advice would be this: It is better to blog for yourself as the reader than to try to please a whole lot of readers that could easily forget about you after one visit.



About you:



01/ Do you have a nickname or nicknames? If you have more than one, do you have a preference?

I really do not have a nickname

 although I did want to be call 'rain girl' at one time but not any more.


02/ List 7 words to describe you.

stubborn, quiet, unruly, seriously unserious, bookish, neat-freak, and stubborn because I really am stubborn




03/ If you do not have to worry about time or money, what is your favorite way to spend your day?

Drawing/finishing an art piece while watching tv shows/movies and maybe in between some other activities that invovle moving about (as I sit in my chair far too much) while eating something very tasty or very bad for me.




04/ What are some of your favorite hobbies that people might not know about?

Collecting postcards - they are mini artworks to me. Plus organize and reorganize my belongings which is probably not a hobby but I do it a lot, I guess it's more like a bad habit.


05/ What is the one book that you love that you would recommend to just about everybody?

I've been answering with Postcards from a dead girl by Kirk Farber but Gathering the water by Robert Edric is another favorite that I completely love and it's vastly different from Postcards... and certainly has a more serious tone. I love this passage: 
"Starting anew, I began to discern the light and the landmarks of the possible future. There was a time in between, of cause — a period of confusion in which life went on and I acted out my part within it — but it was never starting anew, never a rebirth, merely a succession of lesser endings, during which I severed my ties one after another — my family, my work, my connection to Helen's family, to her sister, to my colleagues, and finally upon reaching the shapeless centre of that darkness, my hopes and expectations for the future."

06/ Do you have a favorite item or items that you often use and would not wish to live without? 

My laptop is one thing and maybe artworks to hang or stick to the wall or just to have around. I don't necessary can't live without art but I like having them around. What good is a room without art?


07/ List 7 of your favorite things.

(1) blue pens - especially those decorative ones with various patterns but mostly those that are blue but not necessary with blue ink
(2) Dr. Martens boots - they are more comfortable than sneakers
(3) badminton - haven't play in a long while but I still like to but sadly, there's no one to play with
(4) Ruffles potato chips cheddar & sour cream flavor and Doritos - I love to eat them but I try to limit myself
(5) egg drop soup - I haven't had them in a while because I can only get them in restaurants and I don't eat out much
(6) umbrellas - because they go with rain and comes in various colors and shapes 
(7) books with beautiful covers - I know I'm picky but I really cannot stand it if a book cover is ugly, I don't care how great the book is but if the cover is awful, I would wait until there's a good version or at least get the one that is the least ugly.


08/ When are you most creative/productive? The morning, the afternoon or night or just about any time?

When I have too much to do, it's when I'm most productive. It seems having a lot of free time makes me not want to do things. But I do find I am most productive mid­day, that is, after lunch is eaten and I no longer have an excuse not to do some work.

09/ Tell us something that you want people to know that they do not already know or simply something you wish they know.

I recently read this Erica Jong quote and it really does reflect me or at least a part of me:

"I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged." 


10/ Draw, write, photograph or use any form of communication something that represents you in some way. 

I drew the contents of my bag - things I carry now and then but of course not all together at once because they wouldn't fit and if they did fit, I would be walking around slightly slanted because of the weight.


 The contents are: an umbrella, a couple of pens, journal notebook, wallet, phone, mints, eyeglasses, camera and camera memory cards, keys with swiss gadget & knitted heart, tissue, lip balm, and a book, usually the one I'm reading at the moment.  The leaves and flower I don't actually carry but I once collected leaves and stuff them into my bag. I still have some of the leaves, they are dried of causes but they still have the same shape.

Lissa, thank you so much for sharing your answers (ans questions) and of course your beautiful artwork! I am a huge fan!

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

Bits and pieces.

Hallo meine Lieben,

it has been a while. Well, I do read what you guys have to say but I never really find the time to come up with a post myself. But since it is a new month (May already!!), I thought I should come up with some little pieces of my life here and there. Nothing really exciting but I think a sign of life is in order.  So let's start with a cute picture because cute pictures are always a good way to start anything. Plus cats do rule. All other animals rule too, of course. 

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1. My laptop keyboard only works 12% of the time which is really annoying and makes typing a pain in the ass. I have no idea how to exchange a laptop keyboard plus I am known to be the one to destroy all electronics, I don't even try to fix it. 

2. Tiffie the bunny will turn 6 tomorrow. I am very excited and bought party hats. 

3. I cannot believe it but I am behind my Goodreads reading challenge schedule. Only one book but I am still embarrassed. Not that I don't read but I think I started 10 books at the same time so I really need to stick to one and finish it for now. 

4. I am really into baking. Last weekend I made a chocolate cherry cake which is delicious even though it got stuck in the baking pan and does not look all too pretty. I always drink coffee while I bake. 

5. So many things I have and want to do right now but not enough time. 

6. I am addicted to Jalapeños. 

7. I still haven't watched the Paddington Bear movie. 

8. I need to get a haircut.

9. Somebody told me that my handwriting is a big mess last week.

10. I own two laundry baskets but one of them only serves as a cat bed. 

11. I made a new kitty friend yesterday. He let me pet him and he ate my treats. The mommy of the kitty told me how surprised she was that the cat was so loving and affectionate towards me because he would usually hate strangers and would run away. Made me happy to hear that. Not that the cat hates strangers but that he liked me. The treats might have helped a bit. 

12. I think that "Everything happens for a reason" is absolute bullsh#$%.

13. I think I want to start wearing lipstick more often. Which means more than once a year.  I love the ones by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. 

14. My favorite computer game is Day Of The Tentacle. I am in the mood to play it again. 

15. I am really into anthracite walls. And anything copper. 

So, what's new with you? I really want to blog more often again. I hope I can handle that. I miss blogging. Have a great rest of the week and see you soon!

Meet The Felines.

Hallo meine Lieben,

the lovely Erin from TexErin-in-Sydneyland is hosting a fantastic link-up and this week you can Meet the Felines. So hop over, say hi and see lots of cute kitty cats. Last week I introduced my bunnies Findus and Tiffie, you can find the post here. 

Here we go:

 

Meet Lumpi & Tiger, the two cats who make my life a lot happier. They are brothers and I adopted them when they were babies and my former landlord's brother wanted to "get rid of them". Whatever that means. I don't think I want to know. We will celebrate their 8th birthday this July. Every kitty birthday is a big event and we celebrate with presents and extra treats. But I guess I am not the only one who celebrates the birthdays of their furry family members, right?

Lumpi is the black guy and Tiger the tabby cat. Their favorites pastimes include sleeping on my bed, snoring, playing with their favorite mouse toy or with random accessories  like paper balls, pens and other things that are not made for cats, eating, sleeping on my lap, entertaining the bunnies, watching the birds, sleeping on my clothes, especially when they are in the laundry basket (clean of course), sitting in the tub and drinking water out of the faucet, trying to disturb me when I read and cuddling with each other. As you can see below. 

They get along perfectly fine with their bunny brothers. As long as Tiger does not try to sleep on Tiffie's favorite chair. Then Tiffie jumps on him and scares him away. The bunnies are definitely in charge, there is no doubt. 

They are such cuddly and loving cats. When you sit down on the couch, Tiger will immediately jump on your lap and Lumpi will curl up next to you - and then you are not allowed to leave anymore. 
Tiger usually wakes me up every morning exactly ten minutes before my alarm goes off. He's the best alarm clock you can imagine, that is for sure. 
These guys bring a smile on my face every day. And I am so thankful that they are a part of my family.

And of course, here's the queen: my dad's cat Jerry who is basically my sister. She is 11,5 years old and a bit of a diva. Which means she always gets what she wants. But who can resist that pretty face?

She loves eating, sleeping, meowing and cardboard boxes. Especially cardboard boxes. Lots of cardboard boxes. Big and small. No cat beds. Just cardboard boxes. One time I got her a new cat bed as a present but she only cared for the cardboard box it got delivered in. I think she has at least 6 or 7 to choose from at any time.

So now I am curious about your feline companions. Please tell me something about them!
Have a great rest of the week! And link up with Erin, of course!

Meet the.....bunnies!

Hallo meine Lieben, 

I know, I know. I have not posted in a while but I am trying to keep up with all your blogs and I am hoping to post more regularly soon again. 
Today is a very special occasion: I am linking up with my lovely friend Erin from TexErin-in-Sydneyland! And today's topic is "Meet the canines". I guess now you are thinking that I am cheating and I kind of am...but I am not a dog mommy (yet) but Erin said that bunnies would be okay as well. And since my bunnies are super-awesome I thought you might want to read about them. Make sure to check back next week for "Meet the felines" (and link-up of course!). And of course hop over and say hi to Erin, she loves books and animals and is overall fantastic!

So here we go: my bunny family members Findus and Tiffie. 

One afternoon a friend of mine knocked on my door and when I opened her she was standing there with the tiniest cutest bunny in her hands: it was Tiffie. She rescued him (at that point I thought Tiffie was a girl though) from a really bad situation and knew how much I love animals and that I always talked about adding bunnies again to my family. So there we were, me totally unprepared but absolutely in love with the little creature and her in desperate need for a home for the bunny. So of course Tiffie moved in with me. But bunnies are very social animals and do not like to live alone. They need a bunny companion. I knew the cats wouldn't be enough (although the bunnies love their feline brothers...most of the time). The next day I checked the internet and of course there were homeless bunnies in desperate need for a home. I called the shelter, went there, saw Findus and had to take him home with me because he reminded me of my bunny Knuffi who lived with me when I was a child. 

Shortly after, Tiffie got really sick. He had a really bad infection which he probably got before he moved in with me. Of course this got Findus sick too. They both stopped eating and were in really bad shape. The first vet I talked to in the animal clinic told me that she did not see a chance for them. I requested another vet. Findus and Tiffie are fighters and I believed that they could make it. I had to feed them with a syringe every couple of hours and they had to take lots of medication. We basically lived in the animal clinics because we went there every day. Sometimes twice. The first couple of weeks of their lives were not that great...but as you can see: they made it! And they are happy and healthy bunnies who will celebrate their 6th birthdays next month!

I cannot put into words how much I love these guys and how happy they make me. Even the cats love them a lot. They like to sleep in the bunnies' room (yes, they have their own room, I had my clothes and shoes in there before but of course the bunnies deserved the room) and the bunnies are fine with that...most of the time. Sometimes Tiffie gets annoyed when my cat Tiger sleeps in his spot and then just jumps on his back to make him go away. It always works. 

Findus and Tiffie love to chase each other (and the cats), they love sleeping (especially in their bed (yes, they have a wooden bed with blankets and pillow) and eating (mostly carrots, apples, dried dandelion and other good stuff), they clean each other and hang out in the sunshine. They dislike grooming, driving in the car, going to the vet and when I go on their nerves. 

Those guys make me happy every single day.

Please come back next week to meet the cats. And of course link up with Erin.

Thanks for reading!