Yesterday evening again we had a welcome visitor, the best friend of Axel’s from school days. Now a medical doctor in Hamburg he came for dinner, and I realise that such a weblog makes a lot of things easier for people you did not see for a long time. He had read our pages intensively and therefore brought another hortensia, so that I now have a true “ensemble”, not knowing the colour of the third, as it was only 10 cm high when I rescued it from Aldi last year and so far did not bloom. I also tried to photograph my blue flower box with blue summer meadow (a super tip from Ms Pinné, the official custodian of my mother), which I sowed last week, Axel has to do everything again… we, I and photos.

But back to the visit, we had a good dinner, chicken legs with rosemary yogurt (recipe upon request), we laughed a lot, as emerging similarities between old friends and new wives are not just poor chance to my opinion. You could still feel deep friendship between the two men, which had nothing to do with “I now can do this and now am this and that” from so many school reunions, it was a could exchange, also for me, about family situations with new insights and cognitions for both sides. My beloved one, still marked and handicapped by his illness, again acquired this boyish expression which I so love, Andreas his friend also became more and more like the boy on the childhood photo. So I could very well imagine how these two broke many a heart in Europe during their hitchhiking tours.

As I said, it was also easier being familiar with each other through the web site, and during this evening not only Andreas, but also Michael and Derek, Axel’ family and many others were with us during this evening.

Yesterday evening Andreas visited us. During school times he was my best (and only) friend, we spent many weekends together, either at his or my place, we had three holidays together hitchhiking through Europe. During the last years we lost contact, for about fifteen years we had not seen each other. Reunited in the end (of course) via the Internet, we had lots of things to talk about. The image above shows us as about 14 years old.

It is hard to imagine that the two had left their jobs just a couple of hours before. Sure, it is important to finally know where one is at and thereby feel a certain relief. But good friends and sympathetic listeners also help you master situation.

It is not easy to keep a blog, if you have to run for the toilet every few minutes.

As mathematician I am always annoyed, when I see a poster of our company with the following PR slogan:

Success is the sum of many factors.

The BBQ season is still being started heavily. Yesterday evening Hanna made a wild salmon steamed in aluminium foil, filled with lemons and dill. It tasted great.

Just a pity that there are some health conditions which severely restrict one’s appetite…

Tonight was the first night being warm, the weekend was starting the terrace is ready… and again I overdid things!!

Tomorrow Manu and Karsten will be coming. What shall I do???

There is a mood which I always have enjoyed as early bird: to stand outside somewhere, a mug of coffee in my hand and to feel the world waking up. When I still worked I only new from holidays, in Canada or elsewhere. I stood there with my drink and observed the sky, the birds, the street, the clouds or what ever. Doing this I was humming a song of the 70s (Axel would know by whom, maybe Jaques Brel? Paris reveille – Rem. by Axel: nearly correct, Paris s’eveille by Jaques Dutronc) and was completely happy.

This morning it became clear to me why I find our appartment so beautiful again and again… on the terrace you hear the sounds of the road like a distant sea, unless some idiot needs to test his turbo at the crossroads. Especially now, where I am longing for the sun it is a feeling promising happiness, which means quietness and relaxing, but also curiousness about the coming day. The morning cold makes me shiver, but that also means that I am alive. And then I am grateful, because finally, after so many bad things that I experienced and did, I have arrived, wherever that may be, and also at home.

Berlusconi ist still feeling offended and has not admitted defeat yet. However the Italian High Court today has declared Prodi the winner of the elections. We will see what Berluisconi comes up with next!

This morning at 8.00 am I was in such a good mood, supported by the weather, that I immediately started to reorganize and replant on the terrace. My beloved one was still sleeping which was quieting me as we had nice visitors yesterday evening and he prepared a wonderful leg of lamb in a spicy crust, which was very exhausting after his illness.

The party yesterday was surprising as always with people of very different backgrounds.Well first there were Manu and Carsten wihtout whom I reallly would like to host a dinner I think, as they help with the preparations and the cleaning-up naturally as they really feel at home here. Then there was Irmintraud, my former landlord from Dahlem (86!) with Volker, her eldest son, and daniel Kinderman from Canada. It was a very umcomplicated occasion associated with many remembrances and explanations, as Volker played Father Christmas distributing gifts to the children when Daniel lived at the IBZ with his parents. Irmintraud could very well remember the many concerts given by daniel’s father Bill. But it was more interesting to talk about Volker’s travel plans, there hardly is any country which he has not visited yet, and he is able to follow this hobby even more intensively after being pensioned. With his “Miss Mother” he will go to St. Petersburg next, and Irmintraud said she really still feels up to it. She really is admirable and has such a positive attitude towards life that one can only be happy about her friendship.On Staurday Manu visited the “Jugendwerkhof” (Young people’s working home) in which she was “stationed” for 18 months. It moved her a lot and brought up negative remembrances, but I hope it also helped her to process these horrible remembrances. At least she was able to sleep well after the visit and that is the first step.

Daniel now has a grant to stay one year at the WZB in Berlin and I am looking forward to seeing him more often, because he likes me to cook for him and we already are kind substitute parents to him, when he is in Berlin.

Again it was a wonderful evening and I would like to thank all very heartily, as it still is very much present.