Türkiye Kedisi - Cats of Turkey

 

Resting in the ruins of Ephesus

For Nicole's Friday Face Off I am sharing cats' faces today. In August 2018, after we had come back from our trip to Turkey, I had already written about the cats of Istanbul. However, somehow I missed to give the cats outside of Istanbul the same "honor". Until today.

In Göreme

The Turkish people are very cat (and dog) friendly people. Especially cats are seen everywhere - most of them are stray cats that nevertheless are looked after. And they are loved by everyone and everyone looks out for them. It was quite amazing to witness.

The cats seem to hang out everywhere - in the streets, in ancient historical sites, in national parks, in museums, even in mosques.

Keeping us company while we had dinner in a street café in Selçuk

We visited the Ephesus Museum in Selçuk and look who was hiding there! Professor Cat, taking a nap.

The roof of the building across from our beautiful small hotel in Selçuk was a meeting point for cats of the neighborhood.

But the highest number of cats we saw in the archaeological site of Ephesus.

It was a punishable hot day and the cats took all the spots in the shade.

They were completely unimpressed by this:

They did what cats can do best - sleeping, napping, resting.

Only a few were a bit more alert.

I guess sleeping in such a historical place on such ancient stones is just perfect for cats. Meow.

If you love cats, you will love this 2016 movie, "Kedi" (cat), about the cats in Istanbul. I loved it. Here is the trailer. 

I might not be able to get to your blogs today. Kibeau is ready to cross the rainbow bridge (he is 18 years old) and we hope the vet can come over tomorrow. Today is probably his last day and I want to be at his side. He has always loved company.

Doodle Portraits

This month Kaefer and I do a "Fun in the Sun" challenge together. We do this via an app we both use. When you live so far apart from each other (5527 miles straight line flight distance or 8896 km) you have to use different methods of doing things together than if you're living in the same city or the same country. 

One of the challenges is to doodle a self portrait. I'm not good at drawing or painting portraits in the first place, but in this case I didn't really mind. I didn't even try to achieve something like a resemblance to the "real me" - I just enjoyed doodling a rather wonky face. I used graphite pencils for this.

Kaefer, however, chose to draw herself doing something she loves - riding her bicycle. Just a few weeks ago she took a week-long solo bike trip along the Donauradweg (Danube Cycle Path) and around the Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl) in Austria and Hungary.

You probably already guessed that these two drawings are my contribution to Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Patches of Light

 

The different quality of light fascinates me and it is what draws me into photography over and over again. I especially like the morning light, when only patches of light are visible while everything else is still in shade. Often I go into the garden before breakfast just to see what the light looks like. Of course this only works on non-gloomy mornings, and we had a lot of gloomy mornings recently (just debunking the myth of sunny California).

In the morning the sun has to get past the enormous old Coastal Live Oak next to our property. Rays of sunshine dance through her branches and leaves and lighten up only small areas in the garden.

There are always shadows on the fence that delight me.

Later in the day, the birdbath will become quite popular. One of the Mourning Doves loves to hang out on the angel's head.

Look how the Salvia sclarea lightens up in the few rays of sunshine. When the seeds develop, this plant becomes very popular with the Lesser Goldfinches. They balance on the swaying stems and pick the seeds. I love watching them while they do that. The bumblebees love this flower as well. And as an extra perk, it's drought tolerant and thrives in sun as well as in shade.

The deer love to visit the front garden. I wish the would eat the weeds with the same enthusiasm as they raid the olive tree, smokebush and sometimes even the buckwheat! Evidently they haven't read the note that "deer don't like this plant". Well, mine do!

The photo was taken through the window screen, hence the stripes

Isn't that a sweet face for Nicole's Friday Face Off?

We also had repeat visits from a skunk family - here is a super short video taken with our outdoor camera (turn up the volume). I think this was the evening when there were five little skunks. Two days later, there were seven. We're wondering whether next time there will be nine...

Aren't they stinking cute?

And today - I found this little guy in one of my favorite nurseries. It's a planting pot. It's "only" 295 bucks (+ tax), a steal! Gosh, I love Talavera pottery. If I were rich I would have taken him home and he could keep company with my metal cow in the garden.

Does he count for Friday Face Off, too?

Marks on Abstracts

 

In August of last year I took a class - I can't even remember by whom and what the topic was, it might have been part of Laly Mille's "Layers of Light" - where we were supposed to create a series of small abstracts with neutral colors. As you can see from the gathered papers above, my first "rebellious" act was to add a dash of color with those purple circles.

I worked on 6" x 6" watercolor paper and glued down the papers pretty much without thinking a lot. Then I added some random lines and scrolls with a black Stabilo All pen.

I found it so boring and uninspiring that I put the abstracts to the side for more than six months, until I dug them out again from my unfinished pieces (of which I have quite a bit). I had the idea that some marks might spruce up the abstracts. I used a white gel pen (Uniball Signo) and a black pigment liner (Staedtler) and with the help of a couple stencils (Stencil Girl) I drew some marks on each piece. I also used the gel pen for outlining the flowers on the dark brown paper and make some dots and tiny circles. 

I think it really changed the abstracts in a good way. Now I like them. 

It's interesting how stepping away from a piece and returning to it later can give new ideas and how a few marks can change an entire piece. 

I'm joining Nicole for Sunday in the Art Room.

La Copa Mundial

 

In a pub in Clifden, Ireland. World Cup Final 2018

Do you watch the World Cup?

Despite having grown up in a soccer crazy country - where soccer is called Fußball, literally football, like in most countries outside the US - I'm a less than moderate fan. If I watch football (let me keep that world-wide term for this world-wide game), it's usually the women's teams. But I used to watch the World Cup, of course rooting for the German team.

The World Cup has always been a big thing in Europe. While traveling the European countries the enthusiasm for the sport was on display as well as the pride for the national team. It happenend that we were in Europe during the World Cup 2014 and 2018.

In 2014, we visited Scotland, England, Paris, Germany and Amsterdam. England was not doing well in the game, so there was some encouragement given by a bakery in York, England.

At that time, France had won the World Cup once, in 1998. I remember that day very well, because the final fell on the date of Kaefer's christening. My two godmothers, both in their seventies at that time, became restless toward the evening, when the game would start at 8:00 pm. The entire "christening group" (mainly relatives) ended up watching the game and we had a lot of fun (and I got to see a completely new and surprising side of my two aunts). 

So of course France was in World Cup mood in 2014 as well. You could buy cheap sunglasses in the colors of the nations participating in the games.

Of course Kaefer - who has always been a Fußballfan and used to play it as well - had to try on the German one.

For Nicole's Friday Face Off

Growing up in Germany, you would see the German flag at official buildings, but very seldom anywhere else. We just didn't fly the flag and mostly stayed away from any kind of "national or patriotic display". Our awful recent history prevented us from doing that. However, in 2014 for the World Cup we experienced a very different picture.

The stores were full with cheap items - the German team was doing well in the games and won the World Cup that year.

Care for some fake finger nails and eye lashes?

The Netherlands is quite football crazy as well. It was very visible all over Amsterdam.

Watching the games in pubs is a favorite passtime.

In 2018 we traveled Turkey and Ireland. Germany was not doing well in the games, and in Istanbul we were approached by Turkish people who had rooted for the German team and now expressed their disappointment and sympathy to us (you just have to love the Turkish peolpe). In Ireland we watched two games in a pub, including the final game (pictured on top) between Croatia and France. Watching it with so many other people - strangers all of them - is a lot of fun. You cheer and commiserate together. We were rooting for the Croatian team and I was surprised that almost all of the people in the pub were doing the same. Oh, what fun we had even though our team lost.

But this year? Completely different.

I'm not interested. I'm disgusted by FIFA, the exorbitant high ticket prices, the way football fans from outside the US are "milked" for every little bit (if they were lucky enough to get into the country). It was refreshing to see the German fans march through Toronto before the game against Ivory Coast (thank you Canada). I'm completely turned off by all the advertising the American people get to see on TV during the shortest "hydration breaks". And I wonder why the heck the Cup is taking place in the US when the country isn't even soccer crazy? Is it only because it can make a lot of money with it?

Then I read an article by a columnist in our local paper, who has been similarly turned off like me. He instead watches the Copa Mundial on Telemundo. So I thought "why not?" and checked into the game Colombia vs. DR Congo on Telemundo. Oh my word! While I did understand maybe 10% of what the sports reporter said - well, excitingly shouted - and thoroughly enjoyed his way of exageratingly rolling his R's, I felt the enthusiasm of the fans for the game. The game took place in Guadalajara in México, another fútbol crazy country. It was a blast! ¡bravo!

I'm still rooting for the German team, no matter how well or badly they're doing. I love my native fußballverrücktes country. And if I have time, I'll watch a game or two on Telemundo. En serio!