Subject: Glückwünsche für Margaret; Sommertätigkeiten From: "Bernd Strangfeld" Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2015 23:05:35 +0200 To: Ernstmeyer Dear Margaret, we have thought of you on your birthday and sent invisible congratulations and greetings, but not one written word have we sent across the ocean. But now, after your month has passed and peak summer has started, with sun and heat and bees and some butterflies. Wish you could catch a glimpse of our garden, or rather several long glances, because now most of the attractive flowers are out,humming and buzzing everywhere, wild little bees in and about the insect hotel, dragonflies hatching from their larva skins, young newts exploring the pond. For a change and because I always feel the need to tidy up a little bit in late summer, I cleaned our biggest windows today - with the striking effect that I feared the birds may take the glass for clean air and break their necks flying through or rather against it, so we drew all the curtains and dug out a rather beautiful crocheted curtain that I had made long ago, for sheer love of the birch tree I had worked there, so now I can, after many years, once more admire my masterpiece and at the same time - let us hope so, anyway - convince the birds that they should not fight against trees. We went to Bad Godesberg near Bonn today to see old friends. They are both from the Rheinland, very differen characters in some ways from the natives here, who are more reserved and try to hide their sense of humour. The four of us came to Kierspe in 1971 and have been friends ever since, with interruptions, pauses, but we never stopped liking each other quite a lot. This couple had planned leaving Kierspe right after their retirement for a long time, had carefully planned their going away, explored places, spoken to grass root people who were concerned about the noise of planes (big airports being not too far away), and in the end they nevertheless had to make haste because Geertje had a breakdown, so theymoved into a flat in a newly constructed house whose deficiencies came out one by one, along with the unfriendly spirit of the neighbours in the same house, so after few years they moved to another village, into a flat that was hired out by a slightly difficult lady who wanted much more and intense contact than our friends were willing to give, so out they moved once more, to a house the owners of which were on the same wave length. They had a good, friendly, though short time together, until the owners had, for some family reasons, to sell the house - and there they were again. Now, at last, it seems they have arived at the good haven, again another village, a somewhat bigger appartment, light, very pleasant, and we do hope for them no "devil's foot" will show up. This example holds some comfort for us, who still sometimes suffer from our disastrous moving adventure to Herford, which was put into practice far, far too hastily, because the fate of our friends, who are very considerate people, demonstrates that even with the best planning mishaps cannot always be prevented. I have gone into more detail than can really interest you, but for us this is every once in a while a source of amazement. We have had quite a communicative summer so far, our Danish friend Bente was here, our friend Julie from Minnesota with her new partner, (I have known her since 1963), and a former student from our Bavarian days in Schwandorf/ Oberpfalz whose class teacher I was in 1969/1970, with his wife. All of them we took to Oberhausen to the huge Gasometer, 117 m high, highest of its kind in Europe, which has been changed into a place where they hold exhibitions. The current one, "Der schöne Schein", is running the second year now. It shows reproductions of world-famous works of arts, of sculptures and paintings. Phantastic. We love it and have been there five times now, hoping for a sixth time with maybe some other friends, still. And now, dear Margaret, I am going to bed! Alma, our cat, is still outside as it is such an extraordinarily warm night, but she will come in when I tell her it is late by my standards, and lie close to me on my bed during the ritual hour that I still read in bed, with a cup of herb tea. Bernd always has a bigmug of coffee, his night cap - his mother was the same. So, goodnight! Love to you and Jochen and all our best wishes to you both! Gertraud and Bernd.