I'm farming and I grow it

I came across this video due to a facebook friend and it's amazing. 3 young adult's between 15 and 20, deeply integrated in their family farming background and loving it, and at the same time talented with music. What more do you want? I was impressed with this and it's great to see that young people that are interested in farming and show what they do all day.

Newcastle Storm

Yesterday afternoon while I was at work, the sky turned black within minutes and Newcastle was in the middle of a massive thunderstorm. Heaven opened i's flood gates and Newcastle got flooded. My car parked close to work was save but due to road closures people were unable to leave work or at least it took them ages. For some of my friends it took them 6 hours to get home for a usually 25 min journy.


 I finished work at 9.30pm, checked on the car and then walked home, which took 20-25 min. I went back into town this morning with the dogs to pick up the car



Newcastle in the eye of the storm



At the Quaside

close to the gate

lighting strike at Tyne Bridge

me walking home

52 days to go

I was right that time would be flying by once I reach the 100 days. I can't believe that in just about 7 weeks I will be back in Germany. There is still so much work and packing to be done it's unbelievable.
I have handed in my notice and my last official day is 10.08.2012 but due to holidays my last working day is going to be 25.07.2012 that is just 4 weeks from now. It feels strange, things are going amazingly well at work at the moment and my team is better then ever, so leaving at this point is very hard but at the same time I am so much looking forward to going to Germany.

My brother has started to do some minor work on my house e.g. painting the window frames and kitchen. I wanted to put a wood floor or laminat in the bedroom and was just told yesterday that under the carpet is a beautiful woodflooring, so I don't need to do extra work to put that in. That is amazing, i so love wood flooring :)

I have lot's of packing and selling to do still, you just cannot believe how much stuff I have. Well I can actually :)

Olympic Spirit in Newcastle

A day in the woods

I took the dogs up to Watergate park for a walk and play in the woods, fields and the lake. Both enjoyed the walk immensely, despite the rather cool weather that we have.

Unexpected loss

Meriam and Jens - May you Rest in Peace

In my three decade stint on this earth, I have been blessed with very few death that have hit close to home. In fact most of those death were expected due to age or illness. Even as a volunteer firefighter I was lucky enough to never having to deal with death. Until this morning, death wasn't close and crual...
I was woken up by a call this morning with a blocked number, I figured it would be my mom and wondered about it, as I only spoke to her yesterday morning. I could hear by her voice that something had happened and then she said: Something really awful has happened. I don't know why by my first thought was that my brother was involved in a car accident. And then she told me that Ulla and her two kids have died. When I asked what happened she told me that a fire broke out in their flat and they could not get out. Aparently Ulla went outside once to call for help and then went back inside to rescue both of her kids but they never made it out and died due to the smoke inhalation. Her partner Hüssin came home just minutes before the firebrigate but while he tried to get in the house to get his family out, he never made it inside

This is so cruel, the kids have only been 3 and 1 year old. Jens the little boy was a suprise baby when she gave birth to him in the bathroom as she didn't know she was pregnant. He was named after my brother too. My brother is best mates with Hüssin und his brother and we all have been close to the family.

I was in shock all day and was send home from work as I was so upset about this.

Ulla, Meriam, Jens

You have been taken from this world way before your time

May you rest in Peace

Home

A home is a place you grew up wanting to leave and grow old wanting to get back to

John Ed Pierce

We have gorgeous sunshine at the moment a beautiful May indeed... it also makes me realize how much I'd like to be home right now. Home it's strange, over the last decade home has been a lot of things, home was once the US where I spend an amazing year as Au pair (well a part of my heart still things it home), until quite recently Newcastle used to be home. I can remember countless of times that I steppes out of the plane after a trip to Germany and thinking 'I am glad I am home', at some point over the last few month or maybe even year Seboldshausen became home again and I am so looking forward to going back. At the same time I know that I will miss my friends and the friendliness of the Geordie nation and yes same as the US, a part of my heart will always feel at home in Newcastle but I am also ready to go back home.

It's going to be 73 more days until the removal van will be here (just 2 month really) and I need to be ready and packed by then. I am busy sorting through everything and there just seems to much look through (what was I thinking howling all this stuff from Germany to England by car). It's strange to know that last Christmas I didn't even realize that it was going to be my last Christmas in the UK for while, stange to know that it's the last May for a while, so may last times for time being and at the same time a pull forward knowing that I have made the right choice.