Diana Naindenel

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  1. AHOY ! Part 3 — 7 comments
  2. Sweaty Saturday — 7 comments
  3. We are back! — 7 comments
  4. To Guest on S/V “Blue Moon” – Part 1 — 7 comments
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Author's posts

Oct 14 2017

Ready for a change?

Doing laundry…..not everyones cup of tea!

But everyone has to do it…..some daily – some weekly, if you like it or not. And since you can’t get rid of if, why not do it the smart way?

A while ago, I found the perfect solution: DIZOLVE!

I’m sure some of you know these laundry detergent strips already. Apparently it’s a Canadian product and as far as I know, it can be purchased all over the world (even here in Switzerland, haha… 😉).

Actually, I don’t know where to start to enumerate all the positive sides….Here are the (my) top ten:

  1. Practically no waste
  2. Eco friendly
  3. No animal testing
  4. Vegan
  5. Palm oil free
  6. Hypoallergenic
  7. Saving money
  8. No measuring
  9. No more heavy carrying
  10. No storage room

Honestly, I’m wondering why this kind of laundry detergent is an exception. This should be the norm, in my opinion!

However, maybe some of you are ready for a change 😺

 

Sep 23 2017

Colourful Killers

Imagine! There is a party going on, a birthday, a wedding, an anniversary…..whatever the occasion might be.

The mood is excellent (hopefully), the food is lovely, accompanied by various drinks. Your friends are there, family, you hear laughter and chatter. Above all, the weather is perfect, just as it should be.

More often than not, you will also find varicoloured balloons on such events. Tied to strings, in order to prevent them to fly away.

Then, as a big highlight, everyone takes a balloon and all at once let them fly into the blue sky! Cheering and applause, everyone assures one another, how beautiful they look, with their different colours. Children are cheering, as the balloons get smaller and smaller, until the horizon swallows them up.

People chat a bit longer maybe, then turn around to get another bite from the buffet or another glas of wine…..the balloons are soon forgotten.

But does anyone think further? What happens to these pink and blue and yellow rubberthings, after they are out of sight? Fact is, all of them will – sooner of later – come down to earth again. Some shredded to tiny pieces, others may come down intact, but all of them turned into rubbish, no doubt about that.

Now the problem starts: Many animals mistake these pieces as food, eat them and many die. That can be cows, goats and wild animals. Others – like birds – get tangled up in the strings, still attached to the balloons. Another deadly trap.

Sooner or later, most of the balloons end up in the oceans. Other animals will try to eat these “easy prey” – such as tortoises – and realise too late, that the supposed jellyfish was something else.

I guess, everyone has seen pictures of plastic trash floating in the oceans and I bet everyone is disgusted about it. But why do most forget about it, when it comes to balloons?

My parents just returned from their vacation from the island called Oléron in France. According to them it’s one of the most precious places they have seen. They told me that one day, a group of small children with their animator from the nearby hotel came to the beach, each of them a balloon in its hand. All of them let them go at once, which clearly looked great and made the children happy!

But is it worth it? Is it worth these few moments of joy, admiring some colours in the sky? Causing some more pollution at exactly this very moment? Causing the suffering and horrendous death of countless animals?

Well, who knows, maybe some of you will remember this post. Maybe at their next party, when everyone is supposed to free a balloon into the blue sky. Maybe some of you will be courageous enough to speak up – in the name of our beautiful, but so vulnerable Mother Earth!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 16 2017

Deadline…..

We are very sorry, but we had such a busy week and, therefore, none of us had the time to write a cool post….

Nevertheless, we do wish you all a great and relaxing weekend! Take care 😻

PS: “Australia for Dolphins” (AFD) changed their name and logo. You can see the new one on our site! 🐬

Sep 09 2017

Am I ready?

Well, it was actually Patrik’s idea to write this post, he even had to persuade me – a little bit.

Many of you know that I’ve been rather busy for the last few months. Being creative and very much enjoying what I did, naturally.

What had started as sort of a playful attempt, suddenly became a more serious thing. My bracelets and necklaces were unexpectedly more and more popular amongst our friends and families. It didn’t take long and their friends and families also wanted to own a piece. Orders started to come in, with special color requests…..

It was such a big surprise for me and I was overwhelmed, about their interest in my jewellery. Not to mention my slowly growing success!

These days, my creations are displayed in a fashion boutique, a nearby tattoo studio and “our” Harley dealer! Isn’t that awesome?

Someone even suggested that I should participate in an exhibition, which will take place in December….It’s called “Koffermarkt” here, and apparently known as “trunk show” in the USA (that’s what Google says).

Well, that was a bit of a worrying idea and I needed to be pushed a little, at least to seriously think about it. I mean, was I good enough? Was I ready for this next (big) step?

But on the other hand, what could I loose? The exhibition is not a big one and only one day. Not even the costs are high.

And you know what? As fate would have it, my parents had an antique suitcase on their loft. An absolutely beautiful piece, in beige leather which looks like new! I guess that was me, running out of excuses, right?!

Anyway, meanwhile I signed up and bought some deco stuff in order to present my bracelets and necklaces in a suitable environment.

I reckon, the following weeks won’t be boring, as I’ll have enough to do with producing and building up a small stock.

And I must admit, since I decided to participate, I do look forward to this event. Who knows what the future has in store for me?

A few impressions, voilà!

 

 

 

Aug 19 2017

To Guest on S/V “Blue Moon” – Part 10

May 28th 2017

Good Morning, world!

After the already known wake up call at 05.15h, we enjoyed an espresso and were ready in no time. Punctual, at 06.30h we arrived in sunny Livorno and soon after left the ferry orderly.

The plan was, to drive the same route home, via the St. Bernard pass. The only difference would be that we would pass Parma, instead of Genova. Our GPS said, the journey would take approx. 7 hours. Fantastic!

Our choice to drive via Parma was a bad one, as it turned out….Not because of the traffic, that was ok. But because of the numerous animal transports, pigs on their way to slaughter houses, to become the famous Parma ham….

It was almost unbearable to see these poor animals and not being able to rescue them. I will never again drive this route again, that’s for sure!

Without problems we passed the border to Switzerland and drove further, towards St. Bernard and Chur – the weather was the complete opposite as a week ago: Sunny and warm! That at least made it easier that the holidays were almost over and we were heading homewards.

The St. Bernard pass looked quite different now: The mountains of snow had nearly disappeared, replaced by patches of flowers. The activity on the road was also the opposite, as a week ago. Brave cyclists fought their way up to the top, together with cars, with and without caravans from all over Europe. And as if these weren’t enough, hordes of motorcyclists passed us, with more or less risky manoeuvers. I had to close my eyes sometimes, about some crazy daredevil….

Nevertheless, we looked forward to perhaps meeting Bernie again! But sadly, we couldn’t see him anywhere…..Maybe the traffic was too much for him, or he had his hiding place somewhere and was waiting for the next snowfall, who knows?!

Just before Chur, we heard on the radio that the motorway was blocked by several traffic jams. So we decided to leave the motorway and took the smaller roads beside. It showed that was a wise decision, since we passed a couple of stunning and well known alpine sceneries, such as the “Via Mala” and “Roffla Schlucht”! Just beautiful! We also stopped there somewhere, to have a short lunch.

Unfortunately, our unintended sightseeing tour caused some delay and instead of coming home at 2 p.m., our GPS now said approx. 4 p.m. Well, nothing we could do about it, just roll on, Baby!

The last bit we were back on the motorway again, that went quicker of course and – finally – at 15.30h we arrived home. Tired, but happy! Even more, when Odin came around the corner and welcomed us with a “meow”.

With almost 30° C we started to unload the car immediately, to get it behind us! And to start being home again.

And finally, the bottom line of this adventure is short and clear: Simply marvellous! The week was better than we dared to hope for. Starting with the trip to Italy and back, the ferry rides, Sailitalia and it’s lovely crew and last but not least “Blue Moon”, our faithful cat – thank you!

 

Aug 11 2017

URGENT – Dolphins in Taiji need our help!

An urgent cry for help reached us this week from “Australia for Dolphins” (AFD), wherefore we decided to to postpone the last part of our Sardinia report (again….sorry).

This is the message we received:

 

Can you please take a minute and sign this petition to stop thousands of dolphins being hacked to death?
I’m sad and outraged at dolphin hunting in Taiji, Japan. It’s not a “tradition” – it just makes a few greedy hunters and middlemen rich. The dolphins suffer horribly before they die a slow and agonising death.
Please help with this important issue. Sign the petition to pressure the one man who can stop this season’s hunts:
Add your name to the global petition to #StopTheBloodBath now.
Thanks very much.
 .
There are only a few weeks left, until the brutal slaughter will start – therefore, it’s important to sign and spread this petition asap!
By supporting AFD and/or Sea Shepherd you show compassion and that you care about marine mammals!
Thank you so much for your help – in the name of the dolphins!

Jul 29 2017

To Guest on S/V “Blue Moon” – Part 9

May 27th 2017

Saturday morning has actually arrived. Just before 08 o’clock Patrik and I sat outside in the cockpit and drank our coffee.

Of course the sun was shining and people at the marina were busy with fixing and cleaning boats. Some were talking and laughing and a few were leaving with a cooling box and their fishing rods. It was weekend, after all.

The evening before, we had already packed most of our stuff into our car – only the bedding and coffee cups were left. Also, the rest of the foods had to be moved from the fridge into our cooling box.

We were really happy, that we didn’t have to hurry, but could take it easy. One of the cleaning ladies came by and we had a little chat, about where she and we were from, how much we all liked Sardinia (she was originally from Milan) and how our sailing week was. At the end she even offered us some homemade ricotta cheese. Sadly, we had to reject it with thanks, since our cooling box was quite full….what a pity!

Then it was time to say good-bye, to our dear “Blue Moon”, and Marco and Constantino at the marina. We also decided to visit the office, in order to say good-bye to Luciana and Enzo. Both were there and we talked and joked for quite a while. Among other things, they assured us that we would receive a discount, with our next booking with Sailitalia! GREAT 😉

Finally, they recommended a few places worth visiting, on our drive back to Olbia. Our ferry to Livorno was scheduled for 10 o’clock this evening, so we had pleeeeenty of time!

Off we went, but before leaving Cannigione, we played our role as decent tourists and went shopping! Sardinia has – amongst kitschy kitsch of course – very nice craft, such as pottery.

After lunch we were poorer ready and said “ciao” this lovely little town.

Our first stop was – via “Palau” – “Santa Teresa”, which apparently is the northernmost city. Unfortunately, there was not much space to park somewhere. So I took some photo’s and we left again (after we had lost our way in these narrow streets….shush!). Next stop was “Porto Cervo”. What an extravagant place! The marina was crowded with super-super yachts and the villas embedded in the landscape, look like they would try to surpass eachother in luxury….unbelievable! Well, it is the splendid “Costa Smeralda” after all, where the rich and famous are…..ah, and the money, obviously!

Well, after that overwhelming impression needed something to calm us down – lunch was perfect! In “Porto Pozzo” we’ve found the perfect little place: A bruschetteria called “Gian Paolo’s Bar”, we think it’s worth to mention, because the bruschetta was heaven and the service lovely!

Further we drove, through the amazing landscape of Sardinia, towards Olbia. We even met a wild turtle crossing the street – I had no idea there were turtles living in Sardinia! Around 4 p.m. we arrived in Olbia. Now, we took the chance to explore the city with its numerous bars, restaurants and shops. We still had a few hours to kill…..

Most of all, we noticed that people in Olbia were less warmly than what we were used to after this short time. Not unfriendly, not at all! But our guess is, with all the tourists arriving and leaving daily, it is less important how to treat customers, cause they are there anyway…. Plus the prices – no matter what – are higher.

Around 8 p.m. we went onboard the ferry, which was quite chaotic. It seemed none of the staff on shore knew what their colleagues onboard did and vice versa…. At last we had parked our car and moved to he cabin. A quick shower and off we went to the bar, enjoying a glass of red wine.

The ferry left punctual at 22h and we were so tired…..well, a bit frustrated too, for sure…..that half an hour later we decided we would go to bed. And we had a long day ahead of us: Arriving 06.30h in Livorno and an approx. 7 hours car journey home.

So, Good Ni……….. *snore*