70+ en

The paradise apple tree is loaded with fruit. Now it is time to make paradise apple schnapps. I think it is a bit earlier than usual, but this summer has also been exceptionally warm. The seeds  are brown , so I guess they are ripe. Wash the apples and cut off the top and bottom and then prickle the fruit thoroughly: Put the apples in a glass jar and fill with vodka. Let the apples soak in the vodka 2-3 months before you filter it. Danish

Quercus palustris (North America) - Pin oak 5-6 km outside Lyons-la-Foret is an arboretum with  60 different species of trees planted in areas dependent on their continent of origin (Europe, Asia, America and also an area with trees from  the Mediterranean). There were also 40 different species of trees from the local area. Catalpa bignonioides (North America) - Indian Bean Tree  The arboretum is freely available and all trees are clearly marked. Liriodendron tulipifera (North America) - Tulip Tree  It was a fine place for a stroll and it took a couple of hours. Araucaria araucana (South America) - Monkey Puzzle Tree) There were gravel paths around each "continent", and also a folder with numbers and names regarding each group of trees, and furthermore suggestions for the walks enabling you to experience the whole area. Araucaria araucana - Monkey Puzzle Tree Nothofagus obliqua (South America) Patagonian oak Pinus griffithi...

This Could Change Everything by  Jill Mansell Jill Mansell writes witty, heart-warming, feel-good love stories, as it is said on the book cover. It is a story where everything ends well after various complications. An easy read and probably also easily forgotten, but  cozy, relaxing entertainment. Danish

As well as there were many beautiful half timbered houses in  Hann. Münden, there were also many beautiful doors . Here are some of the ones I photographed for my "collection". The rest can be seen in my   album - indgange - entrances Danish

 A Calamitous Chinese Killing by Shamini Flint Shamini Flint has created a marvelous figure. It is the chubby foodie Sikh, Inspector Singh. Furthermore the stories are exciting and well told, and each story takes place in a new country.  Shamini Flint must know these countries very well, because the atmosphere in each novel is very different depending on which country the story takes place. In this novel we are in China. Inspector Singh is summoned to Beijing to help solve a murder. The first secretary of the Singapore Embassy wants his help in finding out who killed her son. Singh gets help from  former police officer Li Jun. It is a story of corruption, reeducation of dissidents, illegal organ transplants and ruthless civil servants. I have ordered No. 7 in the series. It is at the moment the last one, but hopefully more are in the making. In the series provisionally issued: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder - Inspector Singh Investigates 1 A Bali Conspira...

Home again from vacation in France and Germany and now with the possibility to be on the internet again. The last two days it was  impossible  to up- and download pictures. Today it was possible to try LIDL's game, and I won 12 small deserts (or that is what I think it is). I tried yesterday to upload this picture from  Falkensteinsee, but it wasn't possible, so here it comes: Danish

My English version of my blog is temporarily on hold due to very slow internet connection. Making the Danish version is time consuming enough, and not that easy when I have to use my mobile The foto is from Lyons-la-Foret.

A Death in the Dales by  Frances Brody The book is the seventh in the series: A  Kate Shackleton Mystery The main character  is female detective Kate. She is on vacation with her niece, who is recuperating from diphtheria  They are invited to Yorkshire by Kate's friend Dr Lucien Simonson, who has inherited a house from his aunt. The aunt has witnessed a murder and been tormented with guilt in her last years, as she was unable to prove the innocence of the convicted man. Kate is assigned the notes taken by the aunt during the trial and is soon involved in solving  murder The story takes place in 1916 and 1926. Unfortunately it is the first in the series available in my library. It was fun reading this crime novel written in  2015 after having read one of Michael Innes' novels from 1937. The story in both novels take place in the interwar period, but the difference in language is major. Danish

Hamlet Revenge! by Michael Innes. Hamlet Revenge is No. 2 in the  Sir John Appleby series. I have previously blogged about No.1 : Death at the President's Lodging and No.20:  A Connoisseur's Case I was about to give up on reading this novel, because the first part (68 pages) was about  the presentation of Hamlet at Scamnum Court, and with loads of  persons. I guess it would have been easier if you were brought up in English tradition, but I found it quite a challenge.There are 27 suspects to keep track of.  Fortunately I didn't give up, because after the fist part it caught my interest, and as in the first volume Giles Gott is involved both as director and as Appleby's sparring partner in solving both murder and espionage. A thrilling read and a surprising ending. I will have to get hold of No. 3 : Lament for a Maker. Danish

The cranes are flying south now. They are on their way to southern Spain or North Africa. Yesterday a flock of about 20 was passing our house. Luckily they communicate a lot, so you catch sight of them. In 2012 we visited   Hornborgasjön  to see cranes. It was a great experience to watch about 20.000 cranes gathered, and impressing when they changed places between their eating / dancing place and their night quarters. Each morning you could watch them coming back in thousands. Last year we went to Pulken in spring to see the cranes. Not as many as at  Hornborgasjön, but closer to home - shorter drive. Danish

Cast on 60 stitches and knit 5 rows  k and 1 row purl. Then knit the pattern , and when the cloth has the desired length knit 5 rows and bind off. 1.row: 4 k, 3 p, 5 k 2.row: 2 p, 3 k, 3 p, 3 k, 1 p 3.row: 1 p, 9 k, 2 p 4.row: as row 2 5.row: as row 1 6.row: purl 7.row: knit 8.row: 5 p, 3 k, 4 p 9.row: 1 k, 3 p, 3 k, 3 p, 2 k 10.row: 2 k, 9 p, 1 k 11.row: as row 9 12.row: as row 8 13.row: knit 14.row: purl Pattern: 14 13 X X X 12 X X X X X X 11 X X X 10 X X X X X X 9 X X X 8 7 6 X X X 5 X X X X X X 4 X X X 3 X X X X X X 2 X X X 1 You have to remember that all uneven rows start in the right side of the diagram and X=purl and ▢= knit. All equal rows start in the left side of the diagram and X=knit and ▢=purl. Danish