rekindled spirit

i recieved a BIGLOVE package this afternoon from my aunt traute. she is a spirit to behold, a very rare human being. after spending years in the corporate world she now in her retirement enjoys making natural skin care and soon make up products. she is also working to start a non for profit organization that will bring her products to african countries. she had said that she sent me a box of samples but what i got was a BIGLOVE bouqet that permeated the entire room. i wish i could describle the smell as i opened the box. it was wonderful and i was literally showered with love. she is a passionate maker of soap and believes that handmade soap is the best for your skin. when i callled to thank her this evening, she told me that consumers have no idea what they are doing to their skin using  commercial products infused with chemicals.  there is a huge difference in how your skin looks and feels when you natural soap. she uses all natural products and essential oils to make her soaps. go to spirit soaps  right now and pamper yourself. believe me, your skin will love you for it.  all fruits and herbs and essential oils used are organic and you will be tantilized, the scents especiallyare amazing.

the packaging is simply delightful

heart shaped bath salts are to die for: lavender, vanilla, frankincense and myrrh

a sample 

top l to r: pflanzenseife, black magic, baby soap

bottom l to r: camel soap, berry soap, sheep milk soap

and my very favorite: body butter made of cocoa and and shea butter! the very best ingredients for your skin!

thank you sweet traute for this wonderful surprise i cannot wait to try them all!

my husband’s parents arrived yesterday for a long weekend visit. last night meine schwiegermutter (mother-in-law) brought a beautiful, peach colored box into the kitchen and said “i don’t know if you would want these but….” my heart stood still.  i couldn’t believe, i thought, i was getting something handed down to me. it was such an honor. well, i now as i write, remember the time she gave me her daughter’s first gold earings for my daughter (i couldn’t believe my sister-in-law did not want them) but i did not remember the earrings in that moment. i saw the shiny gold parts shimmer under the kitchen light and i could tell this was special. it got better than that.  as a young woman in the early 1960s, my mother-in-law was a porzellanmaler or a china painter.  i don’t know why i always forget this. it’s perhaps i met her later as an art restorer and during our first years of getting to know each other, she took me all over the region where they live (to museums, churches, and castles) and showed me art that she had restored. the pieces ranged in age from the middle ages to the renaissance period. i will never forget the pride i saw in her face everytime she showed me a painting that she restored as she pointed out each blemish or deterioration from age (that one would never know about or notice) that she repaired. to me the paintings appeared flawless. i felt always as if i had a secret with me with her as my personal guide whispering in my ear what all had been restored.

i still translate in my brain german to english and then process it so i did not realize what she was saying as i carefully took them out one at a time from the box.  i was slowly reminded that she started her career as a porzellanmaler when she took one of the cups, turned it over, pointed, and said ” that was my number, 14″ (her id number is stamped or burned on the bottom). she had painted them herself! what a thrill!

she went on to explain gold painting on china and the difference between two different processes that exist. i have to ask her again tomorrow what all she said about that because i was just astounded and was busy feeling honored. look at her exquisite handwork

here she is, my gem of a schwiegermutter

than  finding one of your best girl friends from high school:: i found nelly!!! (still searching for josie) i am overjoyed. this photo was taken our senior year right before our very last year book staff deadline.

your husband relieving you of all duties for a saturday afternoon out on the town:: running in to a fleamarket that is too good to be true

sunday brunch with an inspiring girl friend:: i have not had to make new friends since college and at this stage it’s really a different ball game. everyone is friendly here but to develop a meaningful friendship is never easy.  i put effort in to staying in touch with the treasure of girlfriends i left behind for this reason and i also feel very lucky to have met manu.

cafe walker on the promenade:: we had gooood uninteruppted conversation, warm sunshine, a breath taking view of the austrian alps over the lake of constance, it’s so good for the soul.

a walk with my sweet family before dinner to end the wonderful, wonderful weekend:: i could not stop smiling, i’m still smiling !!!!!

katie at 6 years old

micheal (spelled with the e first) and katie are some of my favorite people in the world. always have been. which is why every time i have moved, i made sure to stay in touch with them. they are classy, sophisticated, and so ultra cool. they are rare people. the kind you always want to be around because it made you feel cool. anyone that knows them, knows exactly what i mean. i met them as a couple. i don’t know anyone that has been together as long as they have other than my parents. well, that’s not true. there are many others. but when i think of happily ever after, for some reason i think of them. ever since i met her, katie has always been an avid and talented photographer ( her other titles include mommy and executive director, company name with held). she says she gets the photography bug from her parents and i think she gets her fashion bug from her grandmother. she is very chic.  michael is a walking music almanac and currently a corporate executive somewhere (wouldn’t know it from that photo but i love it!!!) but that’s how he is. charasmatic, versatile, super cool, and so accepting of other humans, i am sure that he has never had an enemy. he is able to talk to anyone and he and will!!! well, these two wonderful people produced a wonderful boy named juddah, i just adore katie’s photos of him. flickr is one way we stay in touch and i see how much he is growing, changing and doing amazing things. i always had so much fun with them, and truly enjoyed being around them. whether it was a party at their house or a function that they invited us to  , it was always a pleasure to be a part of it. and i forgot to add, thanks to miss amErika, i met katie and micheal.

erika and i in 1994 

became a janes addiction and josephine baker fan

tasted sex in a bowl for the first time (that’s vanilla ice-cream and chamboird or rasberry liquour)

learned that “unhappiness can be a great motivator if you do not become too comfortable with it”

and that leaving your comfort zone can propel you into opportunities that you never even dreamed of

developed an unfettered love for sexy shoes

met and enjoyed the hell out of benson dubois

found out there’s is a squash that you can eat like spaghetti

and that cross stiching can be relaxing

discovered that sometimes you just can’t care what other people think or say

and that sometimes you should just keep your mouth shut

and the bad times? they pass too, just like the good times do

a very happy, happy, happy birthday to miss AmErika