I miss Shila.....

On Januar 15, 2013, my lovely kitty, Shila, died in her sleep. She had been ill for some days and since she was nearly 18 yrs old we expected that it wouldn't be long. She was the best cat anyone could wish for .... I was always amazed at how clever she was and you could look her in the eye and tell she could THINK, just like humans.

I miss her approaching me when I come home. And when I think about her last days, I start crying as if she was a child I had lost (ok, in some ways she was ... pets can definitely become adapted family members, and are often emotionally closer then some family members). No, I won't get a new cat.... any cat would just get compaired to Shila and none can compare!

This is one of my favorite pictures of her, when she still had two eyes (we had to remove the left one in December 2012).

"Helping" me do a puzzle..... 2012

She died while sleeping in her favorite basket....

In other news..... 2012 was a year of so many changes that I need to write a dozen entries to get you guys up-dated! Maybe some day I'll get the blogging mood again. I just hope that 2013 will be a bit more relaxing..... but knowing my life, it won't be!

Dorrie

It's been a while.....

...since I last posted and life has been a virtual roller coaster ride! Finally, my move out of my (perfect) apartment to my new home is cmpleted..... it was more then stressful! Imagine trying to merge two complete households without either willing or wanting to throw THEIR stuff out! It ended up that most of my stuff is stored in a huge factory which my new boy friend's son owns..... and by chance located just 100 meters from my old apartment! Fate? hmmmmm

There were moments when I wished I hadn't taken this step, but in spite of his age, R. is fun, funny, and tells me daily how glad he is to have found me.... something I missed the past years. And it's so nice not being alone at night and having someone to cuddle in the mornings. But there were days when his age showed (did I mention he's 82?).... shall I say STUBBORN!? :-)

He is accepted by my kids (VERY important!), and I'm accepted by his (he has 3 sons, 1 daughter, 9 grandchildren, and 1 great grandson). It's nice to be able to visit family events as a couple and not as a single.....

Before you-know-who I had a 7 yr. relationship with a great guy, Tommy. We separated because of my move closer to where my job was, and 110 km far away. And due to other reasons, we split, yet I never forgot him. I had been trying to find out if he still lived in our apartment or moved and whether he had a new partner (fearing he may, I didn't dare call at his place). I searched for hints in the internet, found his daughter in a German "facebook" but didn't dare contact him. I thought maybe we could get together again if I ever split with you-know-who, but then came R. but I still didn't give up hope. And then I got a call in July from his best friend. I knew right away why he called......Tommy had died of multiple health reasons. I went to his funeral..... his sister gave a talk and mentioned me, though we never met. It seems that he didn't have a new relationship after me and his sister had tried hard to contact ME after his death! Luckily his friend called my former office and I happened to be there to return my keys when the call came (fate?). The worst emotion was seeing that small urn with his ashes and realising that that was all that was left of the person I once loved.... of the arms that once held me, the body I once held and loved. DAMN!  Too late...... Sometimes fate sucks....

My cat has adjusted well to her new home. She was always an indoor cat and for the first time discovered... GRASS! And she actually loves walking in the rain! She has her special patch of clover she lays in. And R. has become really attached to her. It's so cute to see the cat houses and feeding stations he has built for her! (because her food got eaten by porcupines, we had to make a raised food station). She eats more, has gained weight, and has a nice thick winter fur coat now.

I'm not as much online as I used to be anyway. Yay, the former blogging whore has mellowed. *sigh*

I do check my favorites regularly (=every day at least once) but don't comment often. I'm trying to keep up-dated with everyone but don't always manage.... sorry.

OK, that's enough for now. I'll post pics some day.... promise!

Dorrie

Finally an update!!

Has it really been MAY since my last entry? Geeeeez, that's sooooo unlike me! Well, the blogger me I used to be.....

And a lot has been happening. As of TODAY, I am now on permanent vacation... in other words, early retirement! YOOOOHOOOOOOO  My good-bye party on Juli 3rd at the office went really well. I'll stop by tomorrow to turn in my office keys and ID's.

Last Friday was my daughter's 36th birthday! She arranged a lovely party, which went really well in spite of pouring rain (standard condition here the past weeks.... more like April then July! grrrrrr)

It's decided.... I'm moving, again! I have until end September so that gives me enough time to get things in order. The new place doesn't have internet yet, which is one reason I haven't been blogging or even keeping up on facebook.  I hope to get it installed this coming weekend.... we'll see.

This is a view of my future home. It has a huge yard in the front and back.

Anyway..... that's my world at the moment. I'll keep you updated once life slows down! (LOL)

Neglect....

yes, I've been neglecting my journal again. SORRY!  My excuses? well... busy (final days at the office... only 6 more weeks to go!).... and just plain boredom! oooops

I HAVE been reading a number of your journals.... but I haven't been commenting.... again, SORRY!

This week I have vacation and I'm trying to get some things done, like cleaning my balcony. Today I took the train to Frankfurt to check out something to keep me busy after I stop working..... I'm considering going back to college (eh, university)!! But first I have to see if they'll accept my (old) American school records... I'll find out next week.

So, that's all for now.... {{{hugs}}} to all!

Sunshine Blog Award

Presented to me by LowandSlow  , a former Journalspace buddy and aviation enthusiast  

We even met in person back in 2008

The rules of the Sunshine Blog Award are simple…just answer the following

Favorite color: blue, like my eyes….

Favorite animal: cat, especially Shila 

Favorite number: 6 (son’s birthdate), 13 (daughter’s birthdate as well as her two daughters) and/or 23 (my birthdate)

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: CocaCola (only the original!); Bitter Lemon

Facebook or Twitter: facebook… I still haven’t figured out why twitter is so popular

My passion: once upon a time it was flying, then blogging, now ????

Favorite flower: bottle brush (see picture above with Shila) and bougainvillea  

Favorite movie: musicals, historical movies

Favorite painting: no real fav (and I simply HATE modern art), but I saw this at the Louvre in Paris and liked it (a girl friend managed to take the picture without us getting caught heehee)

And finally, nominate a few other blogs and include links to them

also former Journalspacers....

Dear Maggs  from Downunder (=Australia)

HarpO      who now lives in my (former) hometown and who I have also had the priviledge of meeting in person      

BlueMoaner    an excellent writer....

Sunny a very sweet lady from Floriday and great inspiration

Now it's your turn to present this "award" to some of your favorite bloggers.....

Dorrie aka "Westy"

P.S. maybe some day I'll catch the blogging bug again! :-)

Nicer photos....

I need to blog... first of all to try and get back in the habit, and second to get a nicer entry at the top of my blog! LOL Sooooo, here are a couple of my favorite photos that I have taken over the past years.... I love experimenting around (and Doug is still a great inspiration!).

Connecting trains...

Futuristic...(walk way to the disco aboard the cruise ship AIDA, 2009)

Lonely...

Stairway at an Autobahn rest stop...

another walkway (shopping mall in downtown Frankfurt)

same mall...

Now... pick YOUR favorite!

My job... not always fun....

It's been so long since I've posted..... I know, I know... SHAME ON ME!    And now here I am, with a not-so-happy entry. 

First of all, let me explain my job (only 4 month left!). Some of you know it, most of you don't.  In spite of being an American citizen, I managed to get a job at the regional German FAA! For the past 16 years, I have been an aviation inspector. My job is primarily inspection the airfields within my jurisdiction (24), checking heli ports or advising hospitals planing to build one, check pilots credentials, attend airshows and see if they are doing everything according to the permission my office gave them, etc. etc. The airfields are small general aviation ones, not the biggies like Frankfurt.

Most of the time it was fun and interesting. But once in a while it's not so great, like when there's a crash. And last night we had a big one!

It was night, there were fog patches, The airfield (largest general aviation airfield in all Germany) has no instrument approach system. The reasons are many, including it's proximity to Frankfurt, not to mention an autobahn (highway) west of the field and a high-speed train railway in the east, right close to the eastern threshold.

A Citation 750x was arriving from Linz, Austria, and decided to try to land.... but instead crashed into a forest just east of the field. Because of it's high speed, it exploded and practically disentigrated!

So today I went first to the airfield, talking to the manager, checked the calibration of the PAPI approach lights (they were ok), then went to the talk to the police helicopter pilots next door. After that I went with the police to the crash site to meet up and talk to the guys from our NTSB (called BFU here).

I didn't take any pictures of the bodies.... believe me, you would not want to see them. They were still lying on the ground, and there wasn't a single one that was in one piece. The smell of fuel was in the air and the ground was covered with lots of debrise, from aircraft pieces, to books, coffee cups and paper plates, even metal knives and forks. Some pieces hung in the trees. It had flown through the tree tops for about 700 m.

While I was there the guys from the BFU found the black box. Here a few pictures I took. Yes, it has an American registration, we have lots of American registered airplanes over here (often for burocratic reasons).

So, sorry for this negative entry. Those who know me for some time know that my entries are usually full of smilies and fun.... I prefer to entertain my readers. But I think I need to write this down for my own sanity....

Dorrie