Merry Christmas 2013 and Happy New Year 2014

I haven't posted much toward the end of the year here. I was busy; who wasn't? :P
Guess, it's a time for a resume.
Mostly I was busy all year writing stories for an anthology series called Theme-Thology on G+.

We, as a team, even managed to get a book out this year. More had been planned, but this got delayed.
So, I am now looking forward to get those stories published with the others in their respective anthologies -
or, if it gets cancelled, will try to publish them on my own in the coming year.

Another story of mine will come out at the start of 2014 in another starting anthology series:
NovoPulp. This one will be a print magazine/book. I have not only contributed my story Journey to this,
but also helped a lot to get the project rolling and along to the finish line. What we did get done before teh end of the year is get some fan articles out.

I want to thank all of the others in those two projects for working together to get our "dreams" into reality.

What I did neglect a bit is the painting and drawing. I hope to get the two birds, I started at the beginning of this year, finally done - and do more of those kind of paintings during the year.

I did manage to regularly take photos - and take part in diverse challenges and communities about photography on G+: Scavenger hunts and Treasure hunts to name some. Not all of those photos are public though; they are not always the best to show. I did join a new photo site too. Viewbug -- with contests. Mine never will win against all those amazing photos, but it's sure nice to get recognition from total strangers on your little works.

And I did a lot of handicraft too: crocheting, knitting and sewing (which is also my work).

So, the coming year, switching from writing, painting, photographing and creating things with my hands, I just hope to have enough time to relax and rest and recover new strength for all my little projects. Oh, and to learn new things as well Coursera and Udacity are great online places to learn in your own speed most of the time - and with people from all over the world.

And keep up with reporting about my activities, of course. If not, be assured, I will have fun and laughter and happiness anyway.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2014.

Yes, I remember Mr Rabbit and his visit to me at the beginning of this year - and I really enjoyed taking those photos with him. 

Be happy, don't worry and keep the Love in your hearts.

Mr Rabbit and Reulek - the lost adventure

While Mr. Rabbit was here for his visit,
he had an adventure of the different kind.

He was hunted down by a Reulek.

Mr. Rabbit was inspecting a rock with small cave like openings.

He did not notice a Reulek following him.

Sneaking up from behind a tree, ready for ambush.

"Help, help. Don't shoot. Let's be friends!"

And so they became friends for a while.

 Mr. Rabbit

and the Reulek take a train ride together.

"Look, humans at the train station."

"Kill, kill!" shouts the Reulek.

And jumps out to ambush them.

When finally reaching the village Mr Rabbit was visiting, he had to realize his friendship with the Reulek was only short.

The village was being invaded by a multitude of Reuleks.

 And this is the place they all had come from:

Guess, the snow and cold was too much for them to stay in hiding there all winter.

Mr. Rabbit's Big Adventure - in Germany(18)

Hello, Mr. Rabbit here one more time.

This is my last day in Germany.
I'm getting ready to travel to my next location.
We had another sunny day.
I got to play with the shadows on the wall.

Incidentally, I'm too big to fit through the slit of this mail sending box.
So, Micha will have to find another way for me from where I can start my travel.
Maybe I fit in one of these boxes? Which one will it be?

And, yes, I can take my green bag along too. And the ear warmers and jacket, of course.
I might need them where I go next.

Bye, bye, Micha. We had a good time and lots of fun. Thank you.

 (\_/)

(=’.'=)

(“)_(“)

Mr. Rabbit's Big Adventure - in Germany(17)

Hello, Mr. Rabbit here.

My visit is coming to an end.
Soon I will move on.
To may greatest surprise I had some visitors myself on Sunday.
Well, OK, they came to visit Micha and her family to belatedly celebrate a birthday.
For me, it was a "good-bye" day cake.

The baker is +Miriam Höltschl and she wrote how she made that special  Rainbow cake .

Coming closer to inspect the cake. It smells a bit yummy.

Cake is being cut and distributed. See the rainbow?

And those flowers in the pot next to me brings in Spring feelings; together with a lovely sunshine now.
I wonder what the garden would look like in  Spring?
Right now it's all white with snow.

And there are such fancy things in the garden!

And the cat walks through it too. I found the tracks, the cat stays away from me though. =)

Mr. Rabbit's Big Adventure - in Germany(16)

Hello, Mr. Rabbbit here.

Today, I bring you some comrades I met while visiting. They are to be found all over the place.
And I think there are even more, but I didn't find them.

The guardians at the entrance; enjoying the warming sun rays.
This early in the day it was still a bit cold for me though.

 I went back inside to visit the Lion, and the reclining Lady. She was not liking my visit that much.

Can you see the snake and the lizard hiding in the palm tree pot?

This gecko had me cornered!

So the two huskies came to protect me.

My best friends were these two bears though.
Guarding Micha at night.

 My visit will soon be over. Will I miss them? Who knows what other new adventures I will have. =)

Mr. Rabbit's Big Adventure - in Germany(15)

Hello, Mr. Rabbit here again.

Today was the first day it was sunny all day.
So, after the cleaning at home, Micha and I went for a tour through the village.
Doing some "tourist" like sightseeing.
Well, not all places were tourist places. ;-)

The creek has an (artificial) waterfall!

Looks like Spring, but it's still cold enough to wear my ear-warmers.

And here is a big stack of firewood. In private possession though.

The mayor's office and the free firefighters garage underneath the ex-gym.

A small fountain at the biggest crossing in the village, where 4 streets meet.
Please, do not drink the water.
(It's frozen right now anyway.)

And finally the entry to the "Kloster" church. It's not a monastery anymore.
The village though was founded around it  about 1000 years back.

And I was quite surprised by the many people walking around. Didn't see that many on the cloud covered days during the week. Seems, the sun has made them all come out at the same time. =)

Mr. Rabbit's Big Adventure - in Germany(14)

Hello, Mr. Rabbit here again.

After that long snow walk I was really hungry.
So Micha and I cooked up some vegetable with spices and rice for a hearty meal.

The basics: carrots, celery and leech.

All cleaned, and cut up into bite sized pieces and boiled.

Adding some fresh tomatoes and green curry paste.

Finally, cooked some rice, placed it on a plate and put the vegetable stir over it.


YUMMY

The simplest things can be so good.

Mr. Rabbit's Big Adventure - in Germany(13)

Hello, Mr. Rabbit here again.

I had a good long sleep and now am ready to show you the second set of photos Micha and I took on that long snow walk through the woods.

Remember I stopped at the bridge that didn't reach quite over the water, unsure if to cross it fully or not?

Well, I did. =)
And then we walked on the path of trampled snow along the creek.

Posing at the sign of the spring.

Looking back at he bridge; it looks as if it's sitting in the nowhere between the creek banks.

Another home for me? This wood is full of them.

And then we had to go down steep stairs , all covered with trampled and icy snow. Micha even fell on her behind. Luckily, I wasn't hurt in the bag (and she didn't hurt herself too).

The sound of water was becoming louder and louder until we reached the "Sinterstufen". Some Calcareous sinter over flat stones formed by time. Like a flat waterfall.

One more resting place under an old pear tree.

Looking back at the creek. So full of water now. In Summer, Micha told me, This place had been dry except for a few puddles. And that had been the driest Summer for ages, she had been told by regular hikers at that path. No wonder, the creek down in the village was running so low as well last Summer and is all "back to normal" now.

This part had been dry in Summer.

View from the bench back to where we had come from.

After two and half hours we reached home again.
On the whole hike we met a few people and a few dogs too. But they did not really interest me. I kept hiding in my bag until they were gone.
Only at he spring itself I couldn't avoid them when I investigated it. They sure looked puzzled at us walking around and taking  photos. And they were so loud!

Oh, what an adventure. Looking back, no wonder I fell asleep sorting the photos. So glad, I could take a resting day today.