Celebrating two years of Pink Saturday

It's already two years that Beverly organizes Pink Saturday -- kudos to her! I am glad that I came across her blog a couple of weeks ago, as I definitely enjoy coming up with new pink delights and visiting inspiring blogs from all over the world. Happy 2nd Anniversary of Pink Saturday to all of us and especially to Beverly!

Soft pink flower petals of a gebera.

What would be a party without a cake? This delicious biscuit roll with stawberry cream filling is so soft it almost melts in your mouth. It's frozen food, but couldn't be any better if it were homemade.

Now on to fun games! Have you ever tried to paint with the moon? In late March, Sheree from Raven Moon Magic posted about a blue moon -- and her joy to take unique photos. Last Monday the moon was so pretty when I looked out of my bedroom window before going to bed. I couldn't resist to take some photos -- colored pink for your delight.

I started to swing the camera around during the duration of exposure -- a new form of graffiti!

An attempt at "drawing" a heart.

Wild and crazy -- almost a butterfly!

Spiral fun!

A wider spiral.

You should give it a try, too -- it's really fun!

Finally, I want to thank Yoli from Apron Senorita, a fellow Pink Saturday lover, for the wonderful apron which I had won in her giveaway. My mom wore it today so that I could take photos to show you how truly beautiful the fabric is. Moreover, there's lots of pink! If you now want to have your own apron, be sure to visit Yoli's online store.

The first light pink bellflower of the season.

With this I want to wish you ...

... Happy Pink Saturday!

S is for Santa Fe

All I need's a few more dollars
And I'm outta here to stay
Dreams come true
Yes, they do
In Santa Fe

"Santa Fe" from Newsies,
lyrics by Jack Feldman

There are so many choices for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday this week. S has a lot of possibilities. I thought of Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Sonoma, and Silverton, but finally chose Santa Fe where "dreams come true, yes, they do." The photos below were all taken during visits in the 1990s. I really like New Mexico's capital. On my first visit in Santa Fe, there was some sort of fiesta in the city center with music and dance.

So beautiful, proud and talented!

The little girls were adorable.

One of the most famous hotels in Santa Fe -- the Inn and Spa at Loretto.

The Canyon Road is Santa Fe's art district with dozens of wonderful galleries. It's a pleasure to stroll up and down the road to see sculptures and other art objects. Don't hesitate to enter the galleries, too. You will find amazing artwork there. Below you see a statue outside the Frank Howell Gallery in Washington Avenue.

The statue in front of the New Mexico State Capitol.

On a walk in Santa Fe's city center, I saw this statue of a sleeping bear.

The Loretto Chapel.

The spiral staircase inside the chapel which is considered to be an exceptional work of carpentry. In fact, there'a a bit of mystery surrounding its construction. From Wikipedia:

"The architect died suddenly and it was only after much of the chapel was constructed that the builders realized it was lacking any type of stairway to the choir loft. Due to the chapel's small size, a standard staircase would have been too large. Historians have also noted that earlier churches of the period had ladders rather than stairs to the choir loft, but the Sisters obviously did not feel comfortable with that prospect because of the long habits that they wore. The reputed story continues as follows. Needing a way to get up to the choir loft the nuns prayed for St. Joseph's intercession for nine straight days. On the day after their novena ended a shabby looking stranger appeared at their door. He told the nuns he would build them a staircase but that he needed total privacy and locked himself in the chapel for three months. He used a small number of primitive tools including a square, a saw and some warm water and constructed a spiral staircase entirely of non-native wood. The identity of the carpenter is not known for as soon as the staircase was finally finished he was gone. Many witnesses, upon seeing the staircase, feel it was a miraculous occurrence. The resulting staircase is an impressive work of carpentry. It ascends twenty feet, making two complete revolutions up to the choir loft without the use of nails or apparent center support. It has been surmised that the central spiral of the staircase is narrow enough to serve as a central beam. Nonetheless there was no attachment unto any wall or pole in the original stairway, although in 1887 -- 10 years after it was built -- a railing was added and the outer spiral was fastened to an adjacent pillar. Instead of metal nails, the staircase was constructed using dowels or wooden pegs. The wood for the staircase cannot be found anywhere in the region. The stairs had 33 steps, the age of Jesus when he died."

In Santa Fe, you find the most interesting stores. Some of them are even interesting from the outside. The Golden Eye is a good example.

I want to end this post with the lyrics of the song "Santa Fe" by the Bellamy Brothers:

Her turquoise lips kiss me like a lover.
Her silver eyes see right through my veins.
Her Indian heart asks when I'll return to her.
Her Spanish soul begs me to remain.
And no one that I've ever known can move me like she does.
No, it's not a woman that I love.

Santa Fe Santa Fe
I have been here in your arms and now I want to stay.
Santa Fe Santa Fe
I won't sleep 'till I'm back in Santa Fe.

Her sunrise could bring light into a blind man.
Her sunset could put tears there in his eyes.
Her colors are laying there in brush strokes.
Underneath those peote skies.

The lay of the land stirs all of my emotions.
She heals me with a laid back energy.
She holds onto my broken lifeless spirit.
And molds me just like pottery.
And nowhere that I've ever been can make me feel this way.
That's why I'm going there to stay.

Santa Fe Santa Fe
I have been there in your arms, now I want to stay.
Santa Fe Santa Fe
I won't sleep 'till I'm back Santa Fe.
Santa Fe
No, I won't sleep 'till I'm back in Santa Fe.

A walk in the woods

Yesterday was Whit Monday, a public holiday in Germany. As the weather was warm and sunny for a change, it was perfect for a walk in the woods. The forest is a short five-minute-drive from my place. The first photo shows the view the car had while waiting for my return.

It's a forest right out of a Brothers Grimm fairy-tale, isn't it?

Have you ever tasted wood strawberries? They are small, but just delicious. I intend to come back when the strawberries are ripe.

The new leaves are a joy to see.

Such fresh green!

The path looked great with that pattern of light and shadows.

A view of the path through the forest.

Tree gum on a tree's bark.

A wonderful spider web -- and I didn't see the spider when I took the photo! It's on the right side in the middle -- click on the photo to see a larger version.

You almost expect to see fairies dancing in the sunshine.

A man and his dog -- the dog had much fun playing with a tennis ball, and I had much fun watching him.

The fresh leaves of a chestnut tree.

Puddle reflections.

The bark of a birch tree -- I love the white bark.

There's a fitness course through the forest. Here you can do pull-ups.

Losing Oneself

Art Creations Friday already has its 75th challenge. My digital ATC turned out rather surreal.

Dreams of summer

Summer hasn't come to Germany yet. Even spring has been mostly cold and rainy so far. Thus the summer challenge at We Love Digital Art was definitely welcome. I created two summer images -- the first is an altered photo taken last summer.

The second one is a digital ATC with one of my favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Live in the sunshine,
swim the sea,
drink the wild air...

Pink blossom for Pink Saturday

I am keeping Beverly's Pink Saturday short, sweet and pink today with a photo from my spring garden.

Happy Pink Saturday!

R is for Raccoon

It's time again for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday! The letter R has so many possibilities, but I simply had to choose one of my favorite animals this time. I haven't seen raccoons in the wild around here, but they live in other parts of Germany. However, a couple of them have their home in a wildlife park in Poing, a community not too far from Munich. I took the photos below in 2003 with my very first digital camera.

I want out!

Walking back and forth in my (very large) cage.

Oncoming traffic!

Don't I have the cutest face ever?

At my place there live some raccoons, too. The one below even has a green bow.

Some magnets on my fridge. Well, I guess my magnets do reflect my love for the American West, huh?

Another furry guy...

... and one made from wood.