Food Heaven

A couple hours ago I was quickly browsing my news feed on Pinterest and saw a picture of a food counter in Harrods, the famous upmarket department store in London. It brought back memories of our trip to London in the summer of 2014, and of course we visited Harrods at that time. I wanted to show both the Geek and Kaefer the amazing food hall.

But before I show you pictures of the Harrods food hall, I want to show you two images of the ceiling - two very different ones.

Both were so pretty and quite well demonstrate all the ornate details that went into the construction of this beautiful building.

Harrods is expensive. Not really my place to shop, but it's wonderful to walk around and look at all the displays. The food hall is amazing and, to be honest, very decadent.

Sausages, cold cuts and all kinds of meat...

and a rich variety of yummy looking pies that I bet were delicious.

Wonderful Charentais melons which in my humble opinion are the best melons in the world - small, juicy and sweet. The Charentais originated in the 1920's in the Poitou-Charentes region of western France. It is a very delicate melon and highly valued, but usually is not commercially shipped (Charentais in the United States - if you're lucky to find them - are mostly imported from Mexico). I remember them from growing up and living in Europe; I've also tried to grow them here in California, but haven't been very successful.

Let's go to the sweet treats that we all love so much. What about cupcakes - luxurious ones, of course!

Or perhaps you like figs much better and want to try all these different ones? With candied ginger? Or walnuts?

I was drooling over this display - chocolate is totally my thing and I wish I could have tasted them all!

Could someone please give me this little gift box? Come on, I'm really not asking for much!

And since we're in London, capital of the tea drinking nation, there's tea - lots of it, of course.

Color Me Rad

Last Saturday we had the Color Me Rad 5K race in town. Kaefer and some of her friends had decided to participate - for the first time in ages they had a carefree weekend. Finals and AP testing were over and just three more weeks of school ahead of them before graduation. Time to finally have fun!! 

(All photos in this post were taken by the Geek because I had to work that morning.)

Before the race they looked boringly normal.

Then the race began - yes, there was some running involved, but it certainly wasn't the most important part.

During the race people on the sidelines threw color (powder) at the runners - you can see the color dust in the picture above. By the end of the race the girls were already pretty colorful.

Especially the hair color had changed.

Our girls weren't ready to leave yet. They were energized and just wanted to have fun. After months of studying they were ready to party!

Then they got hold of the color...

It was good that they were wearing sun glasses because you sure don't want the powder in your eyes.

Hand prints were made...

Suddenly "bluetooth" had a completely new meaning...

They were all colorful by the end. They behaved like little children and their big smiles showed how much fun they had. How can you not like teenagers?

Just Some Images for Mother's Day

Koalas in San Diego Zoo

It's Mother's Day today in the US and many other countries in the world. I thought it would be fun to post a few photos of mothers and children in the animal kingdom.

Enjoy!

Hippos in Berlin Zoo

I had to include this one even though the baby is not in focus. They look as if they're having a really good laugh!

Some of you might remember the little owls we witnessed growing up at the lake.

That was back in 2011.

At the lake we also have many families like this one:

Prairie Dogs in South Dakota's Badlands.

And Bison in Custer State Park, SD.

Every spring sheep come to the site of my husband's work place where they keep the grass and weeds short, nibble on the shrubs and bear their young ones.

Taken in Maine by the Geek, you have to figure this one out by yourself...

Happy Mother's Day !

Where Will Donkey Go?

This street is in my neighborhood very close to our home. I go along it almost every day - at the end of it, before the meadow, I have to make a right turn. Every time I drive or walk here I enjoy the view of the meadow, seeing the green grass and the trees. It's a little oasis and right here it turns up to the hill and the forested area. It's beautiful.

You might have seen it in the top photo - there is a big sign on the fence. It was installed a few weeks ago - and it's very disturbing.

The meadow is for sale. Almost 4 acres are offered up for development. A kind of development we don't know what it will look like. Will it be an apartment complex? Single family homes? Probably not for businesses as this is zoned for residential buildings.

The meadow across the street is for sale as well. Here goats used to hang out, very sweet and curious black goats. They have been gone for quite a while. Sometimes they shared the meadow with a donkey.

However, the donkey lived on the other meadow most of the time, often sharing it with the deer. He is still there, but I wonder for how long? And where will he go once the meadow is sold?

This donkey is a beloved part of the neighborhood. Young mothers with their small children visit him. I heard some elementary school girls lovingly call him Don Quixote. Kaefer and I simply call him Donkers.

He is the sweetest guy, very mellow and always comes galloping down the hill when you call him. Of course he expects some treats like apples or carrots. He also loves grapes. When he realizes that the visitors haven't brought anything but a few cuddles he lets his frustration know, loud and clear. I always know when he's angry because I can hear it in my house.

Every now and then - rather seldom - Kaefer and I feed him carrots or apples which he chews slowly and thoughtfully. Nothing can distract him from eating. I do think his teeth need a thorough cleaning.

What will happen to him? What will happen to the meadow?

We do have a huge housing crisis here. Affordable housing is more than difficult to get - but I doubt that this meadow would be a spot for affordable housing. I'm afraid it will be the location for some high end housing projects that we really don't need anymore. It will do nothing to lighten the housing problem to low income people. And I don't believe that it is zoned for apartment complexes.

We can only wait - and hope that they will build new housing, whatever it is, in a sustainable way. I hope that a good part of the trees will survive. I can't stand thinking of all the little critters who call this meadow a home right now. They, too, will need to go somewhere else. And once more, their habitat gets a little bit smaller.

This is the view of the upper part of the meadow from our bedroom window. What will we see from there in a year from now?

Since these photos show quite some fences I'm linking up to Theresa's Good Fences. I haven't done so for a long time.