Bees - Cold Weather

[Donanita]

No not to close

I am in Shreveport in North La not to far from the Ark border.

[Lion]

And then there was

And then there was my decade in Santa Barbara, CA, going into the 70s. Camelot. Always 72 degrees with low humidity. Only rained at night and only in February. The fog came in off the Pacific in the evening, so the nights were always cool for sleeping. No air conditioning. A few dollars per month for utilities. Fresh food was cheap and plentiful. No racoons eating my garden. No salt/sand wearing away my car; 25 cent public transportation. No expensive winter clothes; no summer clothes, either; just all-season clothes. Had to pay a lot more for a smaller house with no amenities in CT. But, there was an earthquake in SB the day we left. I guess there is no paradise on earth.

[Unregistered]

Camelot

And then there was my decade in Santa Barbara, CA, going into the 70s. Camelot. Always 72 degrees with low humidity. Only rained at night and only in February. The fog came in off the Pacific in the evening, so the nights were always cool for sleeping. No air conditioning. A few dollars per month for utilities. Fresh food was cheap and plentiful. No racoons eating my garden. No salt/sand wearing away my car; 25 cent public transportation. No expensive winter clothes; no summer clothes, either; just all-season clothes. Had to pay a lot more for a smaller house with no amenities in CT. But, there was an earthquake in SB the day we left. I guess there is no paradise on earth.

Gosh, that sounds wonderful. Is any of that still in place? I might move there! Were you on the beach (we don't have one here in Mayberry/Dogpatch)? It kinda makes one crazy to think of such a cool, green, and shady Eden while stuck in a Sahara-ish environment.

[Black Bart]

P. S.

Sorry, that was me-Black Bart. Forgot to log in.

Just thought-I think I was there once as kid. Is that the place where the swallows return once each year? One landed on my shoulder and my mom got a picture of it. Don't remember what the town was like. If I'd read your description then I would have applied to the local orphanage for a spot.

[Gretel]

Black Bart

If I keep posting on this thread I will be a senior member in no time. How about that?

I never looked at my life that way. It's true. Thank you for pointing this out. If I were just an accountant I never would have left Germany. Much too scared.

My son is almost 22 now and studies in Maryland. He is a responsible young man and probably has forgotten now how much he disliked my accent. I sometimes throw if off though. We always talk "denglish" since some things are said either in one language and some in the other. Then because of my accent he isn't sure with some words if I talk English or German. I guess you need to know two languages in order to understand that one. Have you ever traveled abroad?

[Lion]

Camelot

I left Santa Barbara in 1978, so I'm sure it's changed. The swallows return to Capistrano, I think, further south. But, that's nice, too; loved San Diego, for instance, and Coronado. Water was scarce, but that kept growth down: no building permit without a water hookup. Year-round temperate weather meant street people. And, don't know what Enron did to energy costs! (My refrigerator is still running since 1975, though; guess all my refrigerator magnets keep the motor running.) UCSB on the Pacific is a wonderful location for a university. There was no manufacturing, just think tanks and retail and such, so few itinerant workers. Schools were primo before Proposition 13 which kept property taxes low but destroyed school funding. Once I got used to the seasons changing the landscape in new (for a midWest girl) ways, it was still the best climate I've ever lived in. You could go to the beach on Christmas Day and see the snow in the mountains while sunbathing. It was the bedroom community for the film industry and the retirement location for Chicagoans.

[Black Bart]

The Grand Tour

If I keep posting on this thread I will be a senior member in no time. I guess you need to know two languages in order to understand that one. Have you ever traveled abroad?

Hmm, it is getting kind of long, isn't it? I guess it's true that the weather is always a good subject to start conversation.

Speaking two languages: I envy you there. I always wanted to be able to do that, but only got as far as two semesters of French in college. Apparently didn't absorb too much, because I quoted the few lines I remember on the other board a while back and another poster, who apparently was a real linguist, translated my statements and revealed them to be nothing but a lot of nonsensical gibberish. I thought French was pretty tough to learn. Is German hard to learn? Also, I've heard some people say that English is extremly difficult to learn. What do you think?

Traveling abroad: Well, I've been to Mount Pilot (county seat for Mayberry). Just kidding.
Actually I have never been off the continent. But, for what it's worth, I've got photographs of myself and friends in front of just about every national monument between Niagara Falls and Mount Rushmore.

Best regards...BB

[Gretel]

Private language thread

Bart, in one way German is harder to learn than English because just to be able to talk you need to have more basics. On the other hand, since German is written the same way it's spoken it should make things easier. It's hard so to judge how it is to learn a language that is you mother language.

In Germany it's mandatory to learn English in fifth grade. I can not remember it being difficult besides the pronounciation. And you can talk with you a few word. But the more you get into the language the more exceptions from the rule you have and it's not easy anymore. I only dared to speak after I met people in real life in the USA instead of just being on vacation.

Then I had to and there was a time when I hated it. Now, getting older, I sometimes get so confused with the two languages. Somehow I wished my German would disappear more just like my tax knowledge from Germany is gone by now. Just imagine I would confuse the German tax with the American tax.

French is a nice language. My son speaks French too. I admire all people who speak more than two languages.

Take care.
Gabriele