Wolfgang Hampel, Betty MacDonald and her very special experiences

 

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

we hope you'll enjoy Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter January very much. 

Do you like Winter?

Betty MacDonald described Winter season in one of her unique books.

Betty MacDonald: 

“ Big snowflakes fluttered slowly through the air like white feathers and made all of the Heavenly Valley smooth and white and quiet and beautiful.

Tall fir trees stood up to their knees in snow and their outstretched hands were heaped with it. Those that were bare of leaves wore soft white fur on their scrawny, reaching arms and all the stumps and low bushes had been turned into fat white cupcakes.”  

Betty MacDonald described Winter season in a magical way but as we know Life can be rather hard on Vashon Island during Winter.

We got these messages from Betty MacDonald fans some years ago.

Very cold days in the State of Washington! Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

We recently had a wind storm followed by some very low temperatures and a lot of snow.
Vashon Island had a power outage for a few days. My sister was without power from Monday evening to Thursday before noon.
The next week is supposed to be above freezing, rain and occasional sun-breaks.
Old timers on the Island had kerosene lamps and wood stoves and plenty of wood just for this type of situation.

We had a bit of snow and cold around here and mother had to put up with no electric power or heat for two days but seems cheerful about it all.

We have just gone through an Arctic Express. Extremely cold and snowy on Vashon Island. Broke records for low temps. I was without power for 24 hours, many much longer. Today is much warmer and the snow is almost gone.

We have had bad storms that brought down some of the big trees on houses and power lines. We have had long hours and days without power, and the temperature got down to 15 degrees F. No sun, but today it is raining and the snow and ice are melting.

For one week here it's been verrrrry cold from zero with wind chil to now finally 40 degrees. Seattle was almost shut down due to bad ice. We cancelled plans to go to Sequim, which is not far from where Betty lived the story of the EGG AND I. Too cold, too much snow, windy, and icy. So we stayed home and roasted a duck!! 

We're not seeing the sun yet! At least it isn't raining. It's impossible to walk every day in this weather. I usually go out for 45 minutes a day.  

Oh dear! 

We didn't have experiences like this in Winter and we don't want to have it.

Maybe I'm a fraidy cat but we are so grateful for the excellent heating system in our cozy home.

Our new Betty MacDonald and Alison Bard Burnett CD and DVD are perfect gifts. 

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli is back and we are very happy about it.

Wishing you a very nice Monday,

Lisa

Don't miss this very special book, please.

 

Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I  

Betty MacDonald fan club groups 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund 

The Observer

‘If we want Germans to accept Arabs, Arabs must also learn to accept them’

Skinny-dipping, gay relationships and parenting all form part of Magdi Gohary’s crash-course introduction to a strange new home, Learn to Understand Germany, given at a huge refugee camp on the outskirts of Munich.
Many of those who join his seminars headed to the country in search of security and gave little thought to what else awaited them there, says the 74-year-old, a retired chemist who left his native Egypt for Munich half a century ago.
“We talk about homosexuality, which a lot of my course members tend to see as criminal. I go on to explain to them that Germans don’t see it that way and that they will have to accept that if they want to live here,” he says.
They are warned that their children will have more independence if they grow up German than they might have expected in the Arab world.
“Arabs are often shocked here when they see the Bavarians go swimming naked in the River Isar. But I tell them that if they want the Germans to accept Arab women wearing headscarves then they must accept Germans sunbathing and swimming naked in public parks and rivers.”
In the wake of mass assaults on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve – which police believe were largely carried out by men of Arab and North African backgrounds, including several asylum seekers – Germany is being pushed into a public debate about the challenges of integration.
The conversation is a delicate one. Refugees, those who work with them and the millions of Germans who support chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of welcoming new arrivals are all very wary of giving more ammunition to far-right groups who have already made political capital from the attacks. But many are also frustrated by assumptions that it would take little more than a change of clothes and passports for new arrivals to settle in, and say the conversation is a very necessary one for Germans and refugees alike.

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“Both Germans and refugees have expectations which the other side can’t really fulfill,” said Thomas Bönig, who runs intercultural city tours in Cologne. “There was a big hype two months ago, when it was seen to be cool and trendy to go to a refugee centre and donate old clothes, but this hysteria of joy is now turning into a hysteria of frustration. Just giving a refugee a donated jumper will not turn them into a German citizen. That needs time and both sides must approach each other with flexibility.”
Anas Alhamsho, a 36-year-old pharmacist from Damascus who has organised a petition condemning the attacks, readily admits that it has taken him time to adjust to his new home. “There is so much to learn about everyday life. Often it is little things such as respecting red traffic lights and not talking too loud in public. Just live by the rules like the Germans,” he says, more than a year after arriving.
Those challenges do not explain what happened in Cologne though, said Alhamsho, who has spent days travelling around refugee camps in the Ruhr valley to collect signatures for the open letter in English, Arabic and German that he hopes to deliver to Merkel this week.
“We abhor the sexual assaults and incidents of theft putatively perpetrated by migrants and refugees,” says the letter he drafted along with two other Syrians and a Pakistani. “We commit ourselves to do our part, within our means, to ensure that such crimes as were committed in Cologne will neither be repeated nor the hospitality of the Germans be abused.”

World Day of the Snowman
January 18, 2016 in the World

World Day of the Snowman is celebrated on January 18, 2016. The date goes back to the form of the Snowman: "8" symbolizes the snowman and the "1" stands for his stick or broom. Moreover, January is usually cold enough to build snowmen and is therefore a perfect chance to celebrate the snowman. World Day of the Snowman was first held in 2011.
A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture. In some cases, participants in winter festivals will build large numbers of snowmen. In North America, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs with some additional accoutrements for facial and other features. Common accessories include branches for arms and a rudimentary smiley face; a carrot can stand in for a nose. Human clothing, such as a hat or scarf, may even be included.
Low-cost and availability are the common issues, since snowmen are usually in a cold and/or wet environment, and abandoned to the elements once completed. Melting is a common end-of-life scenario for most snowmen. Snowmen are a popular theme for Christmas and winter decorations and also in children's media. (With material from: Wikipedia)
Where is the event?
Worldwide
World
When is the event?
Monday, the 18th of January 2016
Today! The text "World Day of the Snowman" has been taken from www.cute-calendar.com