T sTands for The ST. MarTin's Procession

Hi Everybody!

Hope your week got off to a good start. 

On Tuesdays Elizabeth celebrates her T stands for Tuesday Party, so here a warm welcome to all of the lovely ladies of the T gang.

Last week the feast of St Martin was celebrated here in Rhineland; every town, village, and  borough has its own procession. Saint Martin rides in on a horse, accompanied by kids with coloured lanterns. 'Martin' sees a freezing beggar, swipes his cloak into 2 pieces with his sword and gives half to the beggar. This is celebrated with a procession, collecting money for people who have less, and eating 'Weckmänner', which do taste rather good:

This is a painting from El Greco:

And a painting from  Düsseldorf made in 1905:

It's also tradition to eat a Martin's goose with red cabbage and dumplings:

Traditional lanterns:

Kids often go from door to door, sing a song about St Martin and get rewarded with goodies:

(Images 2,3,4,5, and 6 courtesy of Wikipedia)

My drink was, as always, cappuccino, shown here in my fave mug:

Last Sunday I went again for an early morning walk through the fields to Schloss Kalkum after enjoying a beautiful sunrise::

The ducks were looking happy as always:

The castle ghost was there again:

The last of my balcony flowers:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Remembrance Day

Lest we forget!

(Water coloured tag, linking to Tag Tuesday, Poppies)

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

When every leaf is a flower....

Hi Everybody!

I'm still enjoying the wonderful weather here, it's not often we have sunshine and mild temperatures in November, and I am making the best of it, and spending a lot of time outdoors, visiting various parks and just having fun. Work is overrated! Right now I'm sitting in my cosy kitchen. There's a huge pot of cabbage and tomato stew on the stove, and I'm looking forward to enjoying it with sour cream and rye bread when I've finished this post. 

There have been some lovely tags posted for Wendy's beautiful 'poppies' theme, and I'm glad so many people are remembering and showing gratitude for those who fought, suffered and gave their lives. I have another simple tag made with some water-coloured poppies:

And I have a large (A3) autumnal piece, using a Mucha image (GeckoGalz) on a painted and stenciled background. The leaves have been dried and one was embossed with ultra thick enamel from Suzi Weinberg in gold. 

I am linking to Tag Tuesday and Paint Party Friday

Yesterday I took the tram into Düsseldorf and then walked through Hofgarten, a beautiful park with lots of water fowl:

This is the Thyssen House in Düsseldorf, I worked here for 2 years when I first came here, waiting for the school authorities to check my papers so I could get back to teaching - after 2 years they rang up and asked, 'Could you start tomorrow?' They were always sooooo good in planning..... The good thing about working here was that I got to spend my midday breaks in this lovely park every day:

This is the 'Märchen' (fairy tale) fountain, now without water 'cause it could get frosty anytime:

And, as you might have noticed by now, I can't get enough of this wonderful autumn:

This statue is called the 'Mahner' (warner), you can read more here

I fell in love with this bronze deer the first time I saw it back in the early 70s:

And I rewarded myself with a cappuccino and sit down at a nearby bakery before walking along the Rhine to another park:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!