Rainy days, writing and social networking

I haven't been to the garden in a while, mainly because I wasn't in the mood and it was rather cold and wet in London. Don't get me wrong, the wet was really necessary for the lack of rain in general. Funny, because everyone thinks it rains constantly in London. Far from that. Believe me, it doesn't. Nevertheless, as some of you might remember, I bought an Ostfriesennerz (reversible blue and yellow rain coat) and the boots to the left in October last year. They are originally sailor's boots, but do the trick just as fine on land. And, who knows, I'd love to go for a sailing trip one day. Never did it before, but it's been on my wish list for quite some time. I love the wind and the water, so I assume, it  must be fun. Exhausting, but immensely enjoyable being with a few good people out on the sea.
Okay, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon, but a girl is allowed to dream, right? In the meantime, I wear the gear every time when it rains, though, as mentioned above, they are rare occasions. Yesterday, I saw a massive black front coming up and since I needed to get some food for the iguana, I decided to go blue and yellow, take a walk through the park in order to proof that the 100% waterproof applies. Ha! Typical. I put on the boots and jacket and walked. For an hour! Without even one drop falling from the sky. Very funny, weather, the joke's on me, then. I got funny looks, though. I'm convinced it's people admiring my rain coat. Admittedly, it's rather unconventional, but I had a few comments in the past, and they were all positive. If it rains, I don't get wet, that's for sure. So, after a good walk in the dry, I came back with hopes of being able to write. Forget it! My muse has other ideas. I leaned out of the window and screamed, 'Get your arse back here, Muse!' and waited. Nothing. Odd. I get rather annoyed if I don't write every day. It's weird, after the massive headache attack, I've lost connection to the thriller—to writing in general—which is not what I expected after the good creative wave I surfed on for a while, churning out 1000 words a day. I really want to get back to that. One a positive note: around 2.30am, I wrote 150 words for another book (contemporary fiction), a scene that kept bugging me. Seems, the urge to write is coming back slowly and as the weather's not improving much, I shall make the most of it and force myself to sit down and continue with the thriller. I've also decided to take a step back from social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. It feels like it became too much to handle. Not one day passed on which I wasn't bombarded with invitations to look at a page, to like something or participate at an online book launch. There are still too many Indies who don't understand that I'm not their audience. Anyway, you'll still find me here.

Love,

Stella

A home away from home

I'm back! Well, you probably didn't even notice my being away, but I've been to Germany to visit my friend Piddi and her boyfriend. Though I admit, I love my friend to bits, I think she got the impression I only came for the food I can't get in the UK. No, I'm sure she knows. I'm serious, she laughed when I told her what I wanted to do -- almost everything involved food. To be fair, I promised to cook my Teriyake-style fish and I did. The plates were empty and the satisfied grunting was enough confirmation for me that they really enjoyed it.

Now there was another 'urgent' item on my list: an original, traditional 'cult' raincoat which has the name Ostfriesennerz (East Frisian Mink). The East Frisians have been the target for bad jokes for many years, the stupid peasants (which they are not), who can't afford a proper mink, so they wear the rubber jackets. Since I'm sort of half Frisian, I'm very proud to now own one of those rare rain jackets. They have become a rather huge cult, though many wrinkle their nose just thinking about the yellow jackets (you can wear them inside out, by the way). Perfect for rainy days in the garden; all I need are some yellow/blue wellies and I'm prepared. It certainly was most suitable for the weather in Bremen, because it rained every day. 

What strikes me the most is how much I've adapted to 'being' English. Two people told me I've got a slight English accent when speaking German, which I can't imagine. I also dreamt in English, although speaking German all the time. In fact, I mixed both languages, having difficulties to translate back and forth. On the other hand, when we went to an Irish pub my friend had never been in, I immediately felt at home. English sounds much more familiar to my ears than German, even though the latter is my mother tongue. I think my brain was thoroughly confused. When I woke up this morning, I spoke German to my friend John, who stayed the night after doing house- and iguana sitting. I should mention he's really smitten by Zorro, who's behaved well, according to him.
Funnily enough, I met a guy, also called John, on the plane and when we got talking, he was surprised I'm German. He thought I'm from the north, which made me smile. John if you're reading this, thank you again for the lovely chat and for successfully diverting my thoughts from my panic attacks. Every person with fear of flying should have a John sitting next to them. :-)

The days with my friend were wonderful and now that I'm back, it means knuckling down on the writing, catching up with the backlog and, unfortunately, put up with the unbearable neighbours upstairs, who have saved the best for me.