A California Girl in Germany

70/30

2007-11-27T19:05:00.000+01:00

I received this incredible floss/ribbon fob from Barbara. She remembered that I love peacocks and she got the colors just right ,too. It is sitting right here in front of me, on my desk, where I can enjoy it.

I got my car back- on Saturday! They aren't even open on Saturday , but they messed about with it so long and made 3 diagnosis and had to order different parts and felt so bad, that someone came in and fixed it Saturday morning. The final repair was cheaper than the one I thought they were doing in my last blog, as well.

The drive to pick the car up was so stressful that I managed to get sick . I am coughing, what little brains I have , out. WHIIIIINE!!!!

50/50

2007-11-21T10:18:00.000+01:00

Do you see this car? This is NOT Rachael"s car.
Can you say "rental car" ? I knew you could!

The yellow writting on the side gives it away- ADAC (German AAA) replacement for my car while it is being repaired at a garage 130 kilometers away. The beast, which in three and a half years has not given me a moments trouble, decided to leave me stranded on the autobahn, miles from home, Sunday evening at 5pm.
It simply had no power. I knew that something was wrong on Saturday as it lost power a couple of times , but I was almost at the end of a two and a half hour trip and I had an appointment for a new battery and to have the heater looked at on Wednesday (today) anyway , and each time it recovered nicely. I left for home early on Sunday , to try and get home before dark , even if I had to go slow- but I hadn't planned on going THAT slow. At some point it was just no go. I called ADAC , who showed up after half and hour , he messed with the car for another 30 minutes couldn't find anything and called for a tow. The tow guy showed up after another 35 minuts or so , It all went very quickly considering ,but.. I had planned on being home by then and I had to peee..... The tow guy was very kind and stopped at the next McD so that I could use the facilities and then on to the garage where they gave me the abouve pictured Ford Focus and sent me on my way.
Now comes the scary part- they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. They had the same driving experience that I did ,but just couldn't find out why! Tuesday evening they had the answer. The water pump . That's why the heater wasn't working either. The engine wasn't being cooled properly and everytime it got too hot, an emergency program kicked in and choked the engine untill it cooled down- hence- no power. They will have it fixed tomorrow or Friday to the tune of - big bucks- at which point I will be free to drive the 260 klicks to retreve the thing. And then it still needs a new battery and emergency triangle which got left behind, on the A64, 1500 meters before the Sonnenbornerkreuz. If you see it could you grab it for me?

The other 50 % was wonderful - party , party , party. For which I have no picture's because once again, I forgot my camera! Sombody smack me!! Saturday after a brief stop to shop and gather Starbuck's in Munster, I drove on to Masstricht. Yes, I managed to visit Annemarie after forever. For some reason I had forgotten what a darling ,dandelion puff of curly blond hair she has. She will probably hate me for that, but it was soooo nice to see her and have a bit of a chat in person. Jula looked good and Pelle is so cute- he fell asleep on the couch holding on to my finger. One just doesn't realise how much one misses the odd bit of baby love until one gets some. My heart was melting.
But, by 7:45 pm I needed to be back on my way over the border to Germany again.. My friend Joe turned 50 on Sunday and we were celebrating into his birthday. I know I have mentioned before that it is bad luck in Germany to celebrate ahead of time- so at midnight we sang , congrtulated , opened presents etc.. I went to bed at 4:30 in the morning. I must have been insane. I woke up and wandered downstairs , glanced at the clock and it was NOON.
Once again I was off to the races in my not so trusty (at this point ) steed. A quick wash, fresh clothes and a glass of water and away.
Sunday was Leonie's birthday. Leonie is my god daughter and I was late for her birthday. Some serious present action was called for here , but luckly I was prepared. We had a lovely lunch and then coffee and cake. Wilma (Leonie's Mama) had noodles and cake, extra with no wheat, for me. Thank you Wilma -big hugs.
Unfortunatly , I had to leave early in an unsucsessful attempt at avoiding the above described oddesy. I wish I could have stayed longer. Next time :-)

Red boots, blue boots,

2007-11-13T20:12:00.000+01:00

old boots, new boots.
If you look carefully you can see that these two pairs of boots are the same. One pair is just one year older than the other. I bought the older (duh) pair one year ago on St Martin's Sunday . I like them so much that this year I bought them again- on St. Martin's Saturday. The shoe store in our village has 20% off on St Martin's and I was not willing to pay more this year than last year! For me these are the perfect , everyday winter boots. I bought them a size larger than my summer shoes so that my thick socks fit inside , the sole is "shock absorbing" and non slip , the heel is just the right height to give ME a little height ,but not too high or narrow. They look good with jeans and I also like the height of the shaft. I wonder if they will make them next year? I was amazed to see how much the old boots had aged- even though I did polish them regularly.
A shoe question for those who go to a fitness studio (or gym, as we used to call it) , At the fitness studio that we use, most people don't put their shoes in the lockers, but leave them on the floor. This makes a lot of sense, as we are not talking Manolo's here. But... almost everyone- okay everyone but me- turns their shoes so that the toes point towards the wall/ lockers. I don't get it. Everyone sits down to change their shoes , both before and after working out. Especially now that it is winter and most people are wearing boots ( I was also the last one to go there- last Thursday I was still wearing flip flops to the gym) So if you are sitting down, the shoes you just removed have the toes facing the center of the room. Why do people turn them around? They just have to turn them around again when they change back into them. Am I the laziest person on the planet? Have I not grasped some important point of changing room ettiquette? Don't I have anything better to do than worry about this?

And yes, I am a Dr, Suess fan . I pretty much know "Green Eggs and Ham" by heart. It's amazing how often you can work ".. and he rode with his load to the tip top to dump it" ( mini quiz- which book is this from?) into everyday conversation.

Mojo?

2007-11-08T20:10:00.000+01:00

I can't belive I haven't written in so long. Probably no one will read this as they have given up on ever finding anything new here. I noticed a lot of people having long pauses between their blog entries lately- exept Barbara- she is writting every day- and I am not even managing to leave comments- Barbara, if you are reading this- I can't belive how much you have accomplished recently- you are amazing, and Max's stitching - WOW !
I had a wonderful trip to Virginia. No pictures because I have a new camera and the battery has a different set up than my old one and I just didn't have it figured out. Somewhere on my cell phone are a couple pix of Cheryl and me at the new WWII monument ,but I am going to have to get someone more phone/computer savvy ( Patrick?) to move them over here.

Virginia was fab. Great weather, although everyone who lived there thought it was too warm. I was at the beach which cleanses my soul. I was at the book store, I was at Starbuck's. I was at the yarn store, I was with Cheryl!!! We went to Cheryl's knitting meet-ups , met great people, laughed our butts off ( ha- I wish-mine is still a million times tooo big) . I met Remelda and traded bits with her and ate fantastic , wheat free, frozen waffels. I kid you not, those babies where great.
We went to Washington DC and saw the three things that were at the top of my "things to see in Washington DC" list. Thank you Rick (hug)
The Holocaust Museum- very intense- IMO not for childeren between the ages of about 2 and 12. Under 2 just won't get it and children under 12 will get it, but not understand. Very well done.
The new WWII monument.Pretty , but OTT. There is something to represent everything. Pillers, gold eagles, water, wreaths, maps, reliefs, BIG engraved signs. Like I said it is pretty , but the feeling is missing. If you go to the Vietnam War memorial, you start to cry. This one is nothing like that. Plus I have lived in Europe too long not to be bothered by all of the "do not" signs. Don't go on the grass, put your feet in the water, drink eat or smoke, climb on anything. Breath?
Number three was Mount Vernon- loved it. If you have a chance - go.

Once I got home ( we won't even discuss my flights other than to say that if you ever want to get anywhere on time , don't choose to fly parallel to me. On the other hand , I always do get to where I want to be. Up to you) and had all my chicks back in the nest (exept M of course) I thought things would get back to normal, but it hasn't been that easy.

I have started to go to the fitness studio three times a week. Once to the afore mentioned Pilates class and twice to work out. This seems to be using up some of my mojo. I haven't been able to stitch or knit much. I just can't seem to get started. I have managed to do an amazing amount of other stuff. Getting my kids to a long series of Dr. and dentist appointments ,music lessons, driving lessons etc.. Worked in the library on Tuesdays and covered what seemed to be 397 history books. I even managed to get the winter tires put on my car.
My major goal at this point is to get Dianne's NRR finished and in the mail- it's almost finished- I swear it is! Mojo- come back- please.

Mad insane packing.

2007-10-06T18:09:00.000+02:00

We are mad insane packers.
I took Nala to Anja and stayed there for a couple of days-trying to recover from my CC fiasco- Oh you don't know about that? I managed to lose my credit card last Saturday and only noticed it was gone Monday night. I am leaving for the States early this Monday morning- see my problem.

After I canceled my card on Monday night and ordered a new one, I was lying in bed and all of a sudden had a vision and new exactly where I had lost the stupid thing. Okay, maybe it's not the CC that stupid - it's me.
Patrick and I were at Starbuck's and the cashier gave me my card back after I had put my wallet away and so I wrapped the reciept around the card and stuck it in my pants pocket. Later I was in a restroom (parking garage) and while washing my hands looked down and saw a piece of paper sticking out fromn between the toilet seat and the edge of the bowl. I thought "hmmmm was that there when I sat down - I think I would have seen it." And walked away!! At 12:30 in the morning I thought "Yes goof ball , you would have, and since you didn't maybe it belonged to you. " In the morning I called the park garage and someone had kindly turned it in. - I got it back , but canceled is canceled. The bank promised me a new one by Saturday at the latest. It actually came on Friday. So- a huge cosmic thank you to the person who found my card and turned it in and to the people who replace CC's for getting the new one to me so quickly.

On to insane packing - I got the boys to do most of their packing yesterday evening. Then this morning, I took them to Muenster and told them - whatever you don't have, but need for your trip- let's get it now. We got Alexander a rain jacket- picked up his new glasses and a book, Patrick got munchies for the trip (22 hours in a bus) and the new phone that we were chasing last Saturday. I got a new suitcase. We were home about 15 minutes and Alexander asks me if I have a small umbrella for him. Well- I do , but they are all to girly. Why didn't he say something in Muenster?! I have also had to dig out a swinmming cap , camping flatware , passports and a lot of socks. I even remembered to make copies of the kids shot records and write 27 contact phone numbers on them.
Now, I need to pack my new suitcase.

Look who's here!!

2007-09-26T18:58:00.001+02:00

Just for 6 days, but we are making the most of it. Mostly improving the economy.

Pilates tonight- this is helping my 'back" problem more than anything else has up until now. The class I am attending is a series of 10- I don't know what will happen when it is over. I hope that they will offer a continuation class , but I am afraid too few people will want to take it.

BTW- I floss after eating everything exept a cough drop. So yes, in bed, without a mirror, in the car, wherever I happen to be and think that no one who might object can see me. I said it was scary :-)

I fear I am getting old.

2007-09-22T20:08:00.000+02:00

My favorite chill has been to lay in bed with a good book , a munchie and a bottle of water. Now my favorite chill is to lay in bed with a good book, a munchie a bottle of water and a roll of dental floss. Scary.

Weekend Report

2007-09-16T11:13:00.000+02:00

It is beautiful out- and I am in the house trying to "get stuff done" . Laundry, ironing, stitching (on Dianne's RR, which is now officialy late) writting emails, vaccuming, and blogging. I am doing all of this while listining to CNN- I am a bit of a news junkie.
Later is the Formula One race in Spa- this is knitting and stitching time. Spa is a fun race to watch for a lot of reasons , but one, is that part of the track is regular street and we have actually driven on it.
My sister sent me this beatiful knitting bag a while back. It is soooo cute. I love the baby blue , fine wale cord it is made out of- it even has a matching accesory bag- with a zipper! - She is doing some great sewing.

Su, made all of the members of our RR neighborhood exchange teeny, tiny exquisite, sissor fobs with little houses stitched on them. Stunnig! Thank you Su ;-)

The knitting bits are my first ( self knitted) dish-cloths. The one is finished and the second almost finished. Cheryl sent me the yarn a while ago, I kept seeing this pattern on different blogs , homepages etc.. and thought it was really interesting and decided to give it a whirl. These are really fun , fast finishes. I haven't tried them yet , but I have heard that they work nicely and wash up well.
I hope that everyone else who has lovely weather today, is outside enjoying it.

paying debts

2007-09-08T20:24:00.001+02:00

These socks are for Barbara and Arden. I waited to post them until Barbara had received them. I owed her a pair as a prize from my book recomendation contest- before Easter. O0ps! it took me so long because I knit three pair to get just the right ones.
The first two pair when finished were lovely- , but one pair said Mom and the other had a wide pink stipe-and I know Barbara is not big on pastels. These were exactly what I was aiming for when thinking "Barbara"
It is the Embossed Leaves from interweave (again) and the little socks for Arden have sort of a vine pattern going around them. The yarn is from my last Opal abo and I made a point of not matching the stripes as I wanted a more 'organic" look.
I am quite pleased with them and Barbara says they fit and the colors are quite restful.
I wis everyone a "restful ' weekend.
"Restful" not a word I use often ,but now that I have started I can't seem to stop :-)

hummm- where was my brain?

2007-09-05T09:26:00.000+02:00

On Friday I sent out a couple of gifts. One was for my mother. It came back yesterday. Why? Because, while I cleverly wrote the return address, I forgot to write on it who was supposed to receive it. Eight Euros in the toilet, because the stamps are canceled. What a dork.

edit- The post lady was lovely and put the package back through without charging me for postage again. Isn't that nice!

Can a family spend more time apart?

2007-08-30T07:15:00.000+02:00

Alexander was in a play a couple of weeks ago. That's him in the green shirt. The play was called "Das Fest" and the kids did a fantastic job on what was some very serious material. Alexander looks a little dark in the picture because he played a black man. The character spoke only english and so he was the obvious choice for the part. He did well ,though, and found it a lot of fun, and thinks he would be interested in doing more theater . Which I think is a great idea.

Yesterday , I did something I have never done before. I bought an airline ticket on line. I am a real weenie about things like this. The computer confounds me and I am afraid I will make some huge mistake. I kept obsessivly checking the dates to make sure I was puchasing for the right time - and finally decided- I 'll just go whenever the darn ticket is good for. So I am off to visit Cheryl, in Virginia, for a week in October.
How did this come about? Well.. Cheryl keeps asking me to come for a visit and I really want to sooooo. Both boys have big school trips this year- Alexander is going to Scotland and Patrick to Rome. Last week I noticed that they would actually be gone at the same time! What an oportunity :-) Michael said I should go do something, and so I am.

We had to have a laugh though - Michael will be in Kinchasa, The Congo. Patrick in Rome, Italy. Alexander in Edinbrugh, Scotland.And, of course , me in Virginia Beach- Virginia. One musn't forget Nala. She will be back with Anja and Co. in the Netherlands. Between us we are covering five countries, three contenents, and both hemespheres. Maybe someday soon we can all go somewhere together?

Shopping finishing and cool stuff

2007-08-20T11:33:00.001+02:00

Her is some yarn I purchase this sommer- all of it is sock yarn- I see I went a litle heavy on the purple!
The large twisted hanks are from Pagewood Farm . Handdye from a woman in California. The colors are fantastic and the yarn is really cushy.
The small hank is Claudia' handpaints. I knit a pair of socks from this yarn already and I love how it knit up.
The two small skeins in the yelow net is a purple and white Louet. In the red net a skein of pink Lornas Laces- the second skein had knots in it so I didn"t buy it. This will have to be kids socks.
The small pink skein is Tofutsies. This yarn looks really thin and I am kind of afraid of it :-)
All the other skeins are from Trekking, including the finished pair of socks in brown and pink. A yahoo sock knitting group that I belong to here in Germany went on a field trip to Trekking Zitron two weekends ago and did a little shopping. They actually make their own bamboo needles at Trekking- DPNs and circs. They showed us a little bit about how they make and put the circs together. They also told us that you should always store your circs in a plastic bag as the nylon cable loses water and over time, becomes dry and can become less flexible and even crack. If you notice this happening , lay them in water for a few minutes. I have been storing mine over a gooseneck lamp to keep the kinks out- I guess I better put them in a zippy.

The socks are from Trekking yarn, knit on Trekking 2.25 bamboo needles. The colors on all the pictures is pretty bad as it is overcast today, but I liked the colorway of this yarn so much that I knit plain socks with it ,which is something I almost never do.
The post card is from Cheryl and Rick's son Rich , who was on a dig this summer in Israel- I thought this was the coolest thing and am so grateful that he found time to send me a postcard. Thanks Rich !

San Francisco

2007-08-16T12:29:00.001+02:00

Here are the kids in Golden Gate Park. We are just in front of the de Young Museum. It has been recently remodeled , and while I liked what they have done, I was surprized at how small it is.
My all-time favorite museum - the museum of natural history and the Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planatarium is still closed for renovations. You can see it from where the boys are standing in this photo. Visiting it are some of my earliest and best memories. They have a small version open downtown, but it is not the same- or even close. I hope that when they finish with the building they haven't changed too much. The main reason for renovation is to make it more earthquake safe. I hope they keep, what for me ,are important bits. The beautiful tiles in the amphibian house, the Foucalt Pendulum and the prehistoric dioramas.
I have always been facinated by the Foucalt Pendulum- even when I was to small to know what it was. If you are ever near one of these it is worth it to go see it. It is not really spectacular but somehow impressive.

17

2007-08-12T13:48:00.001+02:00

Alexander turned 17 this July. In Germany he can now go to driving school. - Need I say more?

I'm back -Kind of

2007-08-11T20:47:00.000+02:00

Well we're home. More or less. School has started. Michael is home and we have been running around like mad things trying to take care of business. We haven't even managed to open our mail yet. But here is a picture of the boys . They had a great vacation , kart racing was just one of the many activities that my Mom planed and made sure happened. Here they are about to go out onto the track and try and beat the snot out of each other.

Dang

2007-06-13T18:25:00.000+02:00

Sorry, My internet is down. there is something wrong somewhere in my system. I hope that when Michael is home he can get to the bottom of it. Until then I am stuck pirating one of the kids computers a couple times a day . So no pix :-( And my sister sent me the cutest knitting bag that she sewed for me. Very, very cute.

Yummy

2007-06-06T12:51:00.001+02:00

I just received this sock yarn from Wollmeise. This yarn is so yummy. I can't belive I waited this long to order some. The colors are super deep and the skeins are heavy and feel great in your hand. I am not sure I want to knit with them , I think I want to just hang them on the wall as they are!

Promised Mom

2007-06-05T15:55:00.001+02:00

I promised my mom some pictures of the table deko from my birthday party. Anja and I found both the tiny wellies and the fake grass hysterical. The flowers in the boots are real. The mini rubber ducks were given to the children as favors . Funnily enough , I just remembered that I bought these table cloths (at Ikea) 10 years ago. Anja and I had discovered that our birthdays are only a few days apart and we celebrated together for the first time, inviting the laidies in our club. I wish I could remember the menu .
This birthday the menu was chili con carne, onion bread , honey oat bread, a cheese platterwith grapes and strawberries, brownies and tiramizu. All of it home made. I even baked the finger biscuts for the tirimzu.

Just one more

2007-06-04T13:13:00.001+02:00

My Opal Abo just arrived. I was wondering if everyone recieved the same thing , but I have now seen that while there is some overlap the yarns are not all alike.

another photo heavy post

2007-06-04T12:59:00.001+02:00

Peonies from Michael for our Anniversary- This was quite odd as I have never before expressed an opinion on Peonies. Then about two weeks ago I was in town and sow someone walking by with a bunch and thought- Wow - those are great and then my husband sent me some. Think what you will :-0
Purple Austermann Step socks - have been OTN for about 5 months. I actually had to buy a second skein of yarn to finish these.
A mini sock for the key chain my Mom sent for my birthday and a box of yarn I recieved from Cheryl.

I really should be making dinner but...

2007-05-31T17:43:00.000+02:00

I have tons to say and even more to show and I thought I should at least make a start. Monday was my birthday- and Tuesday our anniversary. I had a small party on Sunday evening and we celebrated "into" my birthday. The be-utiful red biscornu is from Carol- I was so thrilled to receive this. Carol does wonderful work and it is the first bisconu that I have seen in person. Fab- really!
My sister made me the napkins and the necklace and bracelet in the next picture. I am sort of addicted to cloth napkins ( this is very wierd and I should probably save it for one of thoes tag thingys) and she knows exactly my taste.
the next picture is the contents of the box my Mom sent- various bits that she new I would like. I was very "angetan" byt the mini sock blocker and sat down yeesterday evening and knit a sock for it. It only took an hour or so. Pictures in the next post :-)
In the last picture ar a necklace from Michael , some homemade strawberry jam from the neighbor , some silk ribbon, a necklace and ring from Anja and my Pandora bracelet. The Pandora bracelet is one where you collect different beads for it and the boys gave me a new one- hard see though.
I so have more news- about my back , stitching and socks but it wil have to wait as the natives are getting restless for their dinner.

Sorry - blogger messed with me and now the pictures are in the wrong order- but your smart- you'll figure it out.

Lovely presents

2007-05-23T20:11:00.001+02:00

Last week , Michael saw this "Strandkorb" for sale and wrote me an email with the link and said that if I liked it I should order it. Wasn't that sweet!
I did and I did. It said it would take 10 working days to be delivered , but it only took a week - and there was a holiday in there! I was so surprised- and then Patrick put it together all by himself ( it came packed flat) and when I got home from work I could sit in it- isn't it cool?
You can see some of my newly potted plants there as well. Thats about the limit of my gardening- a few large pots with flowers- I regularly let them die ( the fl0wers) and buy new ones. You would think that being from California , I would remember to water.
May is always a big present month for me , mother's day, my birthday and our anniversary. I do like getting presents- deosn't everyone?
For mother's day I received a boquet of flowers and a "Tears for Fears" CD from my kids and from my one god daughter (Ciara) a self strung bead necklace on an elastic. I think there were a lot of these made and given this year :-) I wore mine all day and then hung it on the rearview mirror in my car. Sweet!
Does anybody know what "Strandkorb" is in English, not the literal translation , but what the thing is actually called?
On the health front: After a year and a half of dealing with my back problem , I am going to have a series of very slightly invasive procedures which will hopefully sove the problem - at least to large degree. The first is on Friday- wish me luck.

Kids!

2007-05-17T14:25:00.000+02:00

This is what we gave our kids for Easter.

And this is what I get as a thank you :-0

We do have a rule at our house that goes " shoes on or socks off" , but is appears that if I am not on the spot to enforce it , my children simply ignore it. And no , my children do not wear hand knitted socks- otherwise I am afraid they would no longer be able to walk much less play basketball!

Busy....

2007-05-11T22:38:00.000+02:00

This is my baking afternoon production. Twenty four cupcakes, a small heart shaped cake , brownies, two carrot cakes and a loaf of bread. The cupcakes and the heart are from a yellow cake mix. But the rest are not and are all made with spelt flour. The brownies are from the back of the hershey cacoa box- this is a great recipe as you only need one bowl and a spoon to make them- fantastic. The carrot cake is from "The Silver Pallett", it was my sisters wedding cake. It's a bit more work as the carrots are cooked and pureed and not just grated ,but the last time I made it I did enough carrots for twice and froze it. They will get clasic cream cheese frosting - the cupcakes will get a glaze and some sort of deko too, but not until Sunday morning. The bread is with onion and cheese . I have made this a number of times - always with a slight variation -so I am never sure exactly what it will be like- keep your fingers crossed :-) The whole of this is for a communion that we are going to on Sunday. I didn't plan to make this much , but I kind of started and couldn't stop.
I pretty much began at 4:30 this afternoon and managed to clean the kitchen , shop, do laundry and iron shirts between as well. Oh and talked to my Mom , my Sister and my DH on the phone too.
My sister and I ordered a watch for my Mom for mother's Day and they sent it to her with the invoice and no gift card. She had recieved it, loved it , but simply could not remember having ordered it. I wondered that she hadn't said anthing to me because it should have reached her early this week. I finally did say something and we had a good laugh. She thought she was losing her mind.
We are off tomorrow to our friends so - have a nice weekend and a lovely Mother's Day!!!

Socks and art cards

2007-05-07T19:54:00.000+02:00

Another pair of finished socks- They were almost finished a month ago and only needed about three hours to complete them this weekend. The yarn is Opal and the pattern is from the new Interweave book.

On to lovely gifts. The Easter card and art cards are from Dianne- they are so cool. I had been hoping I was on her list of recipients and was thrilled to receive these. Thanks again Dianne.

I had quite a nice weekend. The daughter of a friend of my mother, Emily , is studying here in Germany for four months. I am thrilled that she found time to come for the weekend and that we were able to do some fun stuff. We shopped- ate out- went bowling , and best of all went to the Felix Nussbaum Museum in Osnabrueck. I actually enjoyed most of the art ,but that is not what we went for. The building is called the Museum without an Exit and was designed by Daniel Libeskind- the architect who has designed the World Trade Center memorial. His buildings are very modern, different and interesting. If you ever have a chance to see one- do .

I promised the winner of the book recomendation contest in this post. I received a number of recomendations for books that I had already read- but I bought and read everything else. To my surprise I was not able to read (or knit) as much as I had planned on vacation , but I did finish them soon thereafter. I really enjoyed two books- Both were fantasy and I will read more books from both authors. "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis and "His Majesty's Dragon" by Naomi Novik. After a bit of thought I decided that " To say Nothing of the Dog " was my favorite. I really love time travel storys and the twists they force my brain to make.
So the winner is Barbara!!
Barbara- I know neither your shoe size nor what color etc.. you would like.. but I am sure we will figure it out.

More ....

2007-05-03T18:04:00.000+02:00

This is my God daughter Ciara at her first communion two weeks ago. I actually have better pictures , but I love the way her face looks in this one. I was actually standing about 8 feet away, on a low brick wall , with my camera held above my head and she was surrounded by adults. So this was just a luck shot. The communion was in The Netherlands and the service was very child friendly and sweet. And, it was the weekend before Michael left and so he was able to go with us. Very nice.
The boys wore suits for the first time - I wish I had a better picture - I hope someone else does. Next weekend we are going to a confirmation and they will have to get dressed up again. Maybe I can persuade Patrick to put on his tie , and I will try to get a better picture.

Barbara: Yes , I did get your note. Thanks and I too, am sorry we couldn't get together, but we will :-)

Annamarie: Yes, I have checked and will continue to check the passports- not only the dates ,but do I still have them?- They are all good for ages and yes, I do have them , but I am very nervous about the whole thing.

Carol and Su: Yes, I would please like to have Carol's RR when Su is done with it, but please don't mail for it to get here between 21 June and 4 August. There will probably be someone who can recive it , but I 'd rather be here mysef.

Hugs and thanks to everyone else for continuing to check and comment on my blog . I do appreciate it- more than you can imagine.

The next post will have the winner of the book suggestion contest!!

Happy May First!

2007-05-01T16:11:00.000+02:00

Well, I have been trying to write a post for almost a week, but I couldn't bring myself to start what should be a huge long thing and so I have been avoiding it. I actually hate to write and don't think I am good at it . I always have to convince myself that I am only going to write a few sentances and then just stop whenever. So that is what I am doing now.

Posting a picture and writing something, just to get back into the swing of the thing.

These socks are my finish for April. They are "Monkey Socks" from Cookie A. The yarn is Opal, in a colorway that wasn't planned to match my sofa. That was a coincedence.

Michel is back in the Congo. He left last Tuesday and is supposed to stay for two months. Right before he comes back the boys and I will leave for 6 weeks vacation in California. Our planning leaves something to be desired, but we do the best we can.

I have spent most of the last week trying to get my house back together . While Michael was here I barely managed to keep us fed and in clean underwear. Now it's back to the grindstone with the addition of everything I avoinded doing the last 4 weeks. When will someone invent self-cleaning houses?
Anyway I am ging to aim for a short post every couple of days. Maybe with a picture or two of our vacation.

Birthdays and other exciting and harrowing events.

2007-03-25T16:33:00.000+02:00

Well, today is Michael's birthday , and as you can see, he is back in Germany- or we are in the Congo! I have on a hat too ,but I took the picture. We had big plans for he weekend. Michael was supposed to get to Germany on Friday Morning to begin his 4 week vacation, but then this happened http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/03/22/Congo.reut/index.html
and he was unable to get to the airport and was confined to quarters. Our plans to go to friends in the Netherlands and our tickets for a function went right out the window.

Thursday evening I pretty much had decided to go anyway . Friday morning , Patrick woke up with a stomach ache and I decided not to go. Friday midday, Alexander came home from school and asked "Are we going?" As Patrick was feeling better - we jammed some stuff into the car, grabbed the dog and went. The between the lines here is a lot of telephone calls with Anja- tears and stomping about, on my part, a trip to the Dr. for Patrick and Michael not knowing exactly when he would be able to get on a plane.

Friday evening , I went with my friends to our "event" . It is a big charity function- I have been most years for about the last 12. Years ago ,I was on the committee that organizes this event and it is always a highlight in my year. It is a fun evening with food and drink from different countries, a casino, music and dancing and a huge tombola . But.. I prefer to go with my husband. I still had a nice time and Saturday Morning, Anja and Ciara and I went to Aachen to do a little stashing ,that is the other picture , and to hit Starbucks.
Buy the time we got home, Michael had called and said that it looked pretty good to get to the airport that evening and we could pick him up from the airport in Dusseldorf, on Sunday - that's today- his birthday. We manged to greet him at the airport with the dog, a candle in a Starbuck's muffin , paper hats etc... The main thing is he is home , safe and sound. Right now he is asleep on the sofa- OUR sofa in OUR house. You understand.

For those that come for knitting /stitching content- my new stash came from Junghans Wolle in Aachen. The greenish yarn is Opal cotton- I might actually have this already, the other yarn is Regia bamboo, there are some 2mm Addi circs , some beads to try beaded knitting, a book about knitting mittens and gloves- I may branch out, some very short knitting needles- for knitting the fingers, some blank memory cards- to make your own, and the blue box thing is a stretcher stitching frame thingy for stitching projects. I have no idea if the stretcher thingy will work ,but the box was torn and they were selling it for 2.50 , so into the basket it went. You can hardly go wrong for 2.50.
I also managed to get a great massage yesterday- so , although it started out badly , the weekend has turned out pretty well!

More socks

2007-03-18T09:18:00.000+01:00

Not only did I finish Su's RR yesterday - I finished these socks , late last night. They are the embossed leaves socks again , but this time in a pale green Regia.

I am up early this morning- for a Sunday ,as it is the first Formula One Sunday of the year and the race is in Australia . I did not get up at 4 am like we used to do. When the kids were smaller and Michael was home , the kids would crawl in bed with us and we would all watch together. This morning I am watching the repeat- by myself. I got up at 8 for the pre-race show and ironed shirts while watching it, and am now watching the race, but it's just not the same by myself. I think I'll go cast on a new pair of socks!

If you missed the "Help" post, please do go read it. Thanks.

Su's RR - done and in the mail

2007-03-17T11:55:00.000+01:00

Well, Here is a picture of Su's RR . I stitched the square in the bottom , left hand corner. The picture is totally crooked ,but it is raining and gray and I was trying to get as much natural sunlight on the thing as possible. Then as it was already 11 and our post closes at 12 , I packed it up and hurried over there to make sure it got in the mail today, and only looked at the pix afterwards. But I did get it mailed :-)
Now I am waiting to receive Veronica's from Barbara and hoping for inspiration. Barbara did a fab job extending a square that Veronica had stitched. I am not sure I have enough imagination for this! I will do my best.

Help!! There is a prize involved here!

2007-03-15T07:24:00.000+01:00

The book cases are exploding- it's time to buy more books!
Seriously folks- We are going on vacation over Easter - Center Park in The Netherlands. We will be spending lot of time swimming and saunaing ( don't think this is actually a word ,but you know what I mean) bowling and playing ping pong etc.. but I also hope to visit Amsterdam , knit , see Barbara and just relax and read. So here's the thing- I need some book suggestions. I want to make a largish order from Amazon in the next couple of days ,but I don't know what to get.
Many of my favorite authors have new books coming out in June or July , but I need something now! So please let me know what you think I would like.
Please include your shoe size if you would like a to try and win a pair of hand knit socks. The person who recommends the book I like the best will receive a pair of socks knit buy my own two hands.
If you don't want socks but just want to recommend a book - just leave out your shoe size. I know there are a lot of people out there who think hand knit socks are eeeeeee :-)

Edited- Barbara wants a hint about what I like- is will be easier to say what I don't like . I am pretty opinionated . I will never again read Danielle Steel or Stephan King. So no really cheapy Romance, and Horror is pretty much out. Scary and Romantic are both good- just not that kind. Also I won't read L. Ron Hubbard , even though the one sci fi that I read from him was pretty good. I just refuse to support that kind of thing. I think the last book that I just loved was "The time Travelers Wife" and before that it was "The Red Tent". That's all your going to get ,as I want to know what YOU think I would like.

I 'm alive!!

2007-03-13T17:56:00.000+01:00

Here is a picture of Su's neighborhood in progress.
Alexander has learned "which" one is the wash machine but not how to use it. He has however learned to change the bag in the vaccume cleaner.
I got a massage last Friday!!!
My husband might be coming home on the 23rd and staying for a month!!! He can celebrate his birthday at home.
My chest no longer feels like someone is sitting on it all the time.
Here are also two picture's of recently completed socks.
And a picture of my feet- not to show you my good taste in sandals, but to demonstrate how nice the weather has been.

Washing Machine?

2007-02-23T20:14:00.000+01:00

Von- keep up the good work of making your kids do their own laundry . You are a credit to motherhood as I , obviously, am not!
Tomorrow, we have friends who are coming for the day. I was baking a lemon meringue pie ,when I realized that the fridge was full and I would have to turn on the small fridge to store the pie. I called to my older son to bring an extension cord and to plug in the fridge, "but" I said " plug it into the outlet where the washer is and not the outlet where the dryer is plugged in. " He looked me strait in the eye and asked "Which one is the washer?"

Pictures are of pie in small fridge, and 16 year old who is focused on x box and doesn't know the difference between a washer and a dryer!

A picture of Ash and some sort of related bits.

2007-02-15T13:21:00.000+01:00

Here, for your enjoyment is a picture of Ashleigh ( I really, really have to learn how to do that clickable link thing) . I took this picture back in September when Cheryl and I met Barbara and Ashleigh in Amsterdam and we went out for dinner at the Hardrock Cafe. I have been wanting to post this picture since I took it- because I think it is a really pretty picture of Ashleigh. I also want to mention ,once again, that I had a fab time the time we were in Amsterdam and that the dinner with Cheryl, Barbara and Ashleigh was the "dot on the i " this is a translation from German and sounds stupid in English ,but you know what I mean. The second reason for posting this picture is that I am going to have to use "old" pix until I can figure out how to reformat the memory chip/card in my camera- or buy a new one. The one in there is full and I am not sure which will come first, either I will figure out the reformat thing or I will give in drive to Media Markt , where they can hopefully, tell me what I need. P.S. for Ash. The Valentine's cakes you made yesterday- too cute!

I had planned a picture of the flowers my husband managed to send me from The Congo. I was feeling a little weepy yesterday- which is getting close to being my standard state- when I got home from the Dr (again!) the box with the flowers was waiting on my doorstep. I promptly burst into tears. I didn't think he would manage , as I know that he has had problems with his internet connection.
Yesterday , I read a lot of blogs and comments about how Valentine's day is so commercial and we should show our love to our.. well.. loved ones every day. While I totally agree with this and I also believe in spreading Valentine's around- it is not just for couples- I want to wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day.
I have another take on it as well. Sometimes, I am glad for the "commercialism" of the day as it gives me the kick in the butt to sit down and send some ecards- let people know that I am thinking about them. This can only be good- right? Also, my husband is home so seldom that I never expect him to clean the bathroom ( he was a great diaper changer though) and while I don't place a value on myself based on if I receive flowers on Valentine's Day or not , it is nice to know that my husband was/is thinking of me.

On a whole different front- I just spoke with a physical therapist and have an appointment for a check up and a private Nordic Walking lesson. I have to do this. I need to lose weight. I need to exercise, I need to get out of the house and I need more fresh air.

Birthday bowling

2007-02-12T19:38:00.000+01:00

Hera are a couple of pictures of the boys bowling . This was Patrick's little birthday party. We all had a fun time and Alexander is getting to be a pretty good bowler. Afterwards we came home and and I made tacos. Sorry - this is an incredibly boring post and I can't think of any way to make it interesting ,but as I uploaded the photos I am just going to leave it.

Pix!!

2007-02-11T10:17:00.000+01:00

Okay - here are the missing pictures from yesterday. Didn't Cheryl do a fantastic job on the felted bag? it is so pretty- I am just not sure what to use it for as I want to use it for something, where I will see it often.
The other picture shows my foot stool, with some knitting and the cool sock needle holders Cheryl sent. On the right is a finished sock, on the left is the second of these ONT. In one of the needle holders is a half sock , from the second I left one end open so that you can see how it works. Fun stuff!
My sister received and liked the socks I sent her for her birthday- which was yesterday- she said the socks fit and both she and Holly (her cat) approved the colorway.

Speaking of colorways- yes, I changed my blog template. Blue is and always has been my favorite color, every few years I take a dive into pink or purple ,but in the end I always come back to blue.

A Pictureless post- for the moment.

2007-02-10T16:18:00.000+01:00

I had a lovely box of goodies come from Cheryl yesterday. A felted bag that she made, a sampler book and some really, really , cool needle holders for when you put down your socks that you are knitting on DPN's .
There were some sweatshirts for the kids as well, but while that's very nice, it's not very exciting for you :-)
Anyway ,I wanted to photograph the felt bag which is a wonderful purple and green , I even wandered around with it to try and find an "artistic" place to make the photo, as opposed to most of my photos which I just take on the table. Sometimes I stand on a chair to get a good one ;-)

I have an ivy plant which I am training around a big heart shaped form and I thought: A ha- perfect. But, my camera was dead. The plug for the cradle goes under my desk and I probably stepped on it and pulled it out. I have killed a couple of headsets this way. The cables get wrapped around my leg and then I walk away and pull on them in ways they were not made to withstand. I have however plugged the camera cradle back in and it seems to be loading. Hopefully in a couple of hours I can take my "artistic" pictures. It might be too dark by then though...
In the meantime I am going to drive to the store. I was just there an hour ago. I want to make chicken pot pie for dinner . I looked up a recipe , made a shopping list and forgot to buy....chicken!

Stitching knitting content

2007-02-06T12:59:00.000+01:00

For those who come for stitching, knitting content-- here it is. Finished and mailed these socks for my sister's birthday- I hope they fit and she likes them. The leg bit is quite long - the cuffs are folded over, but if she has on high boots she can leave them unfolded. I also received and STARTED on Su's neighborhood RR. I will complete this on time!!!

Happy Birthday Pacman

2007-02-06T12:40:00.000+01:00

Yes, it is Patrick's birthday and yes, he opened presents before school- before breakfast even. Michael, Alexander and I gifted him with a couple of band T-shirts ( have you heard of System of a Down?) , a duvet, pillow case set with a print from some heavy metal band and a new, bigger (read louder) amplifier .
The Duvet cover has a horrible print of some boney, thing with a hatchet and and dripping blood. Eddy, Freddy ? from Iron maiden? Anybody know this? Anybody want to admit to knowing this? I am not sure I can sleep with such a thing in the house. I am sure I would not be able to sleep under it ,but then I am not a 14 year old boy. I was even a good mommy and baked a cake yesterday and did not wait until this afternoon to try and bake in a panic, between my English lessons. Dinner, at Patricks request, is a huge platter of nachos.

Forgot

2007-01-28T14:56:00.000+01:00

Diane made a comment on my blog post, with the picture of the guys around the xmas ,tree about us looking like something out of the "Sound of Music" if we were all wearing the outfits that Michael brought us from The Congo. Almost fell off my chair laughing because 1, It is one of my favorite movies and 2, she is so right!!! BTW- he didn't just purchase the bits out of the same print- no , he bought the fabbie- and then had a tailor sew everything. Insane. LOL

Four things about this weekend.

2007-01-28T14:38:00.000+01:00

1, I am still sick, have new symptoms, old symptoms- BLECH!!!

2, I pulled myself together and packed and addressed a bunch of stuff so that I can take it to the post office on Monday. Don't get excited there is nothing for you- it is all boring stuff :-(

3, Patrick is now taller than me- I am officially, for the first time in 16 years the shortest person in the house. Or, does the dog count ?

4, I baked cookies. I do love my children.

Lovely presents

2007-01-22T20:03:00.000+01:00

Here are a few pix of some lovely bits for you all to enjoy- I hope! The beautiful "R" fob is my PIF from Carol. I is stunning and I may have to run out some time this week and buy a new pair of scissors to match it. The orange sock is the first of a pair intended for my sister. The yarn is "butterfly" from Opal but I think it looks kind of like a calico cat. My sister is a definite "cat person". Plus she looks good in orange.

The blue socks are my first pair with cables. They took me forever- not just because of the cables , but because I wasn't doing anything- you know the story. And my swift!!!!!! Check it out. My mom sent a huge box with all sorts of lovelies. The swift- which I have been longing for.Also in the box were some blue earrings and a matching necklace, some blue flowered embroidery Ginghers , which I am addicted to.. plus a measuring tape with a Pinochio nose. I am feeling very lucky.

For Ann

2007-01-22T13:23:00.000+01:00

Hi -Ann in Berkeley . Can you leave me your email address ? I would love to get in touch with you, we can chat about yarn- maybe do some exchanging , if your husband doesn't find anything for you in Munich. I was born in Berkeley- it's one of my favorite places :-)

I'm baaaack!

2007-01-18T15:26:00.000+01:00

Hi ,
I am, hopefully, back. In a nutshell- Alexander was sick, I was sick, my mom came, my mom went, Michael came, we went on vacation, I got sick again, Michael left.. and I am still sick- but getting better and feel like I can sit at the computer for a few minutes again.
The picture is of my "men" putting up the Xmas tree. Alexander's shirt is from the Congo. Michael brought each of the boys a shirt and shorts , a shirt for himself and a Congo style dress for me. All out of the same material. Pretty scary and funny. I meant to take a picture of all of us together dressed in our finery- I will try and remember the next time Michael is home. Give everyone a good laugh!

Many thanks and apologies to those who wrote emails, snail mails,comments and cards, also to those who called and to those who kept us in their thoughts through what was a very Dark December for me. Even if I didn't write you back,and I probably didn't, I very much appreciated every communication. Things are looking up and if I ever get rid of this cold/bronchitis thing I will be cruisin' again.
I did not manage to stitch anything- including Carol's neighborhood ,but I will get that back at some point in the RR and get it done. I have knit one sock since November. Thats it! I sent no Xmas cards- mailed no presents- sent no ecards- again apologies. I will try to do better throughout the year. I am also going to try and visit everyones blogs over the next few days. Hope to hear from you soon.

Sorry

2006-11-23T17:07:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone- things are not good here and so I am going to take a break from blogging. I will probably still read your blog but not comment. Sorry.

11-11-2006

2006-11-11T17:32:00.001+01:00

Today is the official first day of Fashing or carnival- for those who are interested. The narren were out and about.

Here are two of the pairs of socks I showed in my last blog entry - but finished now.

I had to make a break in writting this entry to make spaghetti for 5 kids- where do they all come from? I am going to have to drive into town to pick them up from the movies at 11 pm. Blech- but I would rather go get them and know where they are than have them swaning around completely unwatched.

Talked to Michael today- Things are going well in the Congo. They have only had a little bit of shooting today - nothing to get excited about!

I also, have actually started christmas shopping. Have you ? :-)

11-11-2006

2006-11-11T17:32:00.000+01:00

Pay it forward

2006-11-06T19:33:00.000+01:00

I have joined the Pay It Forward Challenge:The first five people to respond to this post (via the comments section) will get some form of "art" made by me. It will be a hand crafted item made from sewing, crocheting, stitching, decoupage-just about anything. I will try to make the item something special just for you. After you comment, please email me your snail mail address . In return, each person will post the same action on their blogs and pledge gifts to the first five to respond, and so on. I think this sounds like a lot of fun and a good way to improve your karma!
My email is rachael@gmx dot de - you know how the dot thing works.
These are the socks I am working on at the moment. The little pink and red one is for one of my god daughters, whose birthday is in ten days. The green one is for her mother. The green yarn is Austerman step which is super soft and the pattern is a baby cable which is one of my favorite patterns. The blue sock is a pattern I am making for the first time and I really like the way it is coming out. The blue and pink yarns are both from Opal. I am also knitting a sock on two circs for the first time and I have to say - I hate it- give me 5 DPNs any day. The only thing I can think of is that my cables are too long. I will finish these socks on the circs in the hopes that I will get used to them . They are great for taking with you. Scrabbeling around on the floor of a train after a dropped DPN isn't really fun.

Alexander

2006-11-04T09:10:00.000+01:00

Alexander in his new glasses- now if I could talk him into a haircut, he could be seen as well as see.

Schlampe!

2006-10-31T12:22:00.000+01:00

For your enjoyment - A picture of the mess on my computer desk. Think of it as a still life. You can see it is geting cold here because I don't bother to drink tea everyday. I often go without caffeen if it is warm and/ or the weekend. The fact that there are 4 cups built up here since yesterday evening is a sign. Just in case your wondering three are from Starbuck's and one is a Harry Potter cup. All have had their day , but my absolute fave at the moment is the white one with the orange inside ( I almost called it "lining' ) I realy like the shape.
An aside for those who worry about this sort of thing. The cups have only been collecting for less than 24 hours and while the picure was loading to bloggger, I got rid of them and that juice bottle as well.

Well, I finished the poncho-- and I've worn it as well. It ended up with a bit of fringe. I have been trying some knew knitting technics on some socks- including mosaic knitting and knitting socks on two round needles.
I took Alexander to the eye doctor last week and then to Fielman for his first pair of glasses. I had made an appointment for myself at the eye Dr. as well. After writing Alexander's prescription he checked mine and laughed. They are practicly identical.
My husband called and asked me if I could find a couple of remote control boats to send him. He wanted something to play with in the flooded yard. I was just glad he didn't plan on useing them in the room he is living in. I managed to get a good price on a couple from ebay- it had to be at least two because as he said 'it's no fun playing by yourself!"
Yesterday, I ordered winter tires for my car. There is a new law in Germany that you must have winter tires in the winter. Now this sounds pretty obvious, but in tests, winter tires , unless they are very high quality (read expensive) rate very badly in rain. I hate to break it to people , but exept for in Southern Germany , you tend to have more rain than snow here. I needed new tires anyway ( of course, I'll need them again in the spring when the winter tires come off) so off I went to order the tires and get an appointment to have them put on. It was a madhouse. There were a bazillion people there , at ten in the morning, and they all wanted winter tires and they wanted them NOW.
I knew I would have to order, ( my car is fairly large and heavy for Europe) they never have the tires and rims I need in stock. So I wasn't disapointed to leave with no more than an order and an appointment for next week. However, I won't tell you how much those babys are going to cost. It would make you weep for the amount of stash that I will be driving around on!!
I learned that, not only are oil product prices are on the rise, but due to the growing economy in China, there is a steel shortage going on. And in all honesty- Californina girl that I am - when it snows and I have to go to town- I usually take the bus.

Poncho

2006-10-24T16:52:00.000+02:00

Okay all you knitters out there - be kind!
This is the first thing I have knit other than socks and one scarf. I didn't have a chart and it was my first time knitting cables ,I taught myself out of a book. The neck is wider than I really wanted but the length is just right, the points come right to my waist. the edges are not quite even and strait ,but I guess that comes with practice. I hope. I think it needs some fringe or a crocheted edging or something but I can't quite decide- any ideas? Plus any knitting /blocking tips would be very welcome.

Ein Kleine Tropfen Wehmut

2006-10-22T22:34:00.000+02:00

A little drop of melancholy- The translation doesn't sound as good as the original, but it describes the situation.
Michael Schumacher just drove in his last Formula One race.
I am a bit of a Formula One fan and have been for almost ten years. I have never had a "favorite " driver or team . I just like the exitement and the stratagy of the race- however. Schumacher is the most succesful F1 race car driver of all time and has been a large part of the sport for 16 years.
He is also a celebrity who has shown a lot of class over the years. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has never been "caught" with anyone else, he has kept his children and his private life, just that - private. He is always gracious in interviews and has nice things to say about the other F1 drivers.

Most of all he is an incredibly talented person who found his niche and filled it to the utmost and knew that the moment to make a change in his life had come. Respect.
F1 won't be the same with out him but I wish him the best.

Autumn

2006-10-19T22:07:00.000+02:00

As some of you know I live on a farm. We have this harvest wreath hanging on one of the barns year round, and every two years it gets taken down and remade. This year was the year and the picture is of our farmer hanging the new wreath. The making of the wreath is a reason for a party and all of the family and neighbors get together to make the bunches of wheat. The farmers wife does the binding . when the new wreath is hung everyone celebrates with dinner and lots of beer as is the tradition in Germany.

You can see that I didn't get back to this yesterday and almost didn't make it today. My massage yesterday was medical and for my back which is still giving me a lot of trouble. Afterwards I took Alexander to Muenster- we needed a few things ,plus I had to pick op a box of books from customs. My sweet Papa sent a huge box, which we will have a wonderful time working our way through.
Then we had our tea at Starbuck's and did a little shopping.
Today I sent Michael a package with his Wellies . He called and said that the rainy season has begun in the Congo and as he wasn't planning on staying this long he wasn't prepared. It is raining both in and out of the house he is working and living in and he needed his rubber boots. I packed them up with a bunch of anis Fisherman's friends and took them to the post office. I hope he gets them soon.
The I had to give an extra english lesson and then take Patrick to the orthodontist. The good (bad) thing about going to the orthodontist is that there is a good yarn shop right next to his office. I have now started to knit a (don't laugh) poncho. They are pretty fashionable here right now and I have been trying to find a short one that I like . There was one hanging in the yarn shop that was the perfect size . So, now I am trying to recreate the size and knit cables for the first time and actually have no idea what I am doing so wish me luck!

Sloth

2006-10-18T09:47:00.000+02:00

Here is a picture of Cheryl and I in Amsterdam. We are sitting in the outdoor seating from "Boom Chicago" on the Leidensplein. The weather was fantastic and we were having, as you can see, a great time.

Annemarie tagged me with what seven songs are you listening to right now. No Annemarie- I don't mind you tagging me as it gave me a kick in the behind to write at all!
I noticed recently that most of the(very few) cd's that I have purchased are from women . The only cd's that I purchased with men singing are copies of stuff that I have had on tape forever ,nothing new as far a music goes. I tend to listen to the same stuff year in and year out anyway.
1.Put your records on- Corrine Bailey Rae
2.Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfeld
3.Snakes and Ladders -Joss Stone
4.Ain't no other mann- Christina Aguiera
5. Things- Robbie Williams and Nichole Kiddman
6. When Doves Cry- Prince and the Revolution
7.Dancing in the Moonlight- Top Loader
oops- I just realized I have a massage in 20 minutes and I am still in my pj"s- gotta go but I am going to try- realy hard - to get back to this tday. I think I am supposed to tag some people to do this list as well but I am not sure how many so I am going to go with Cheryl, Bine,andMom for now.
Gotta run

Off to Amsterdam

2006-09-27T06:56:00.000+02:00

I am off to Amsterdam for a few days- Meeting up with Cheryl, Barbara and Ashleigh. I hope to return with pictures and a clean soul. Tell you all about it when I return!

Ha!!! fixed the camera problem

2006-09-23T17:52:00.000+02:00

With a little help from my husband and a huge expenditure of patients on my part ,I both fixed the camera and found most of the missing pix. While I was in the States my camera battery got really low ,and apparently the date went back to it's original setting- which was in 2004. So I can find the pix stored under a date two and a half years ago, and any new ones are now to be found in the correct place. How clever is that!

To celebrate- a few pix- My new opal stash. I couldn't decide which of the new Opal hundertwasser sock yarns to buy- so I got them all. Plus a couple of others- as long as I was ordering.And, a picture of of Annemarie's RR. I hope you can see the rain drops .

2006-09-23T17:23:00.000+02:00

Okay- I was a dork and posted this at the "Neighborhood of Make belive" blog - so now that I have copied it here I have to go delete it there.

Well, here I am again- trying to think of a good excuse for why it has been so long since I have written. I am sure I could come up with something good and even something true, but one day you are all going to realize that I am lazy, procrastinating, scum who has NO (make that zero) affinity for the computer. The computer does so much to make my life better- and I just can't love it.

Anyway.... I am still having a problem with my computer eating photos from my camera ( see- see!!!) So no new pix. You can see my finish on Annemarie's Neighborhood RR by checking out our" Neighborhood of Make Belive" link. I also finished a pair and a half of socks. One a red/orange/yellow Lornas Lace's, and the singelton ,which I finished last night is a pink stripey Treking XXL . I will cast on the mate this evening. As if by saying it I will make it come true:-)

I am thinking hard about what I want to stitch on Carol's RR. I thought I had it figured out and then I bought a new chart which I love, but I am not sure Carol will - so I am still thinking.

Nothing new on the husband front. He is far away and bound to stay that way for quite awhile. Safety is all we ask.

I do have some lovely "to share" kind of news. On Wednesday - Cheryl is coming from Virginia- Yea! She is flying into Amsterdam and I am going to meet her-Yea! We are going to stay in Amsterdam four days-Yea! We are going to meet up with Barbara- Yea! and maybe Ashley ? Reserving my yea for a conformation from Ashley but it definitly merits a yea if she can come. Anyone else? If I didn't ask you ,but you would like to come please invite yourself!!! Cheryl is then going to stay another week at my house, so lots of girl time coming up.

I actually preshopped for food for my boys for next weekend. Turned on the extra freezer and am in the process of filling it with frozen pizzas and chicken wings and mini Magnums- they won't eat any vegetables if they have to fix them themselves, so I am just not going to worry about it. As a continuation of trying to get my life and house in order (which seems to be an epidemic among bloggers the last few months) I went to the dump this morning (again, they are starting to greet me by name) and threw away another load of self recorded video tapes. Anything that no one has watched for more than 10 years- no one is ever going to watch again. I also burned a load of paper and applied nail strengthener to my fingernails.

I am going to start letting you know what I am reading- mainly because I love to know what everyone else is reading and really appreciate it when other people say what they are reading and if they liked it or not. I read a book about every day or two ( see where all my time goes) and I am always looking for a good book or an author who I have never read before. Barbara mentioned that she was reading "Extremely Loud &Incredibly Close" a few days ago, so I promptly ordered it from Amazon . It came this morning and I have started on it. I am also reading two Amsterdam guide books- both "Eyewitness" even though I have been to Amsterdam bunches of times. You can never be too informed. Also on my reading list is " The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. I am rereading this. I read it for the first time last week ,but I really enjoyed it and so decided to read it again to see if I liked it as well the second time- I will let you know.
The other books I have read in the last week are- "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind. This has just been made into a movie and I always like to read a book before I see the movie. I am going to reread this and I will let you know what I think then. " The Historian" by Eilzabeth Kostova- This is an,eerie vampire story- not horrer- that was unexpected from the discription on the back of the book. " Delectable Mountains" by Earlene Fowler- This is one of her mystery quilting series. Fun ,but not requiring a brain.

Oops- my husband just called from The Congo- gotta go!

Mini Message

2006-09-12T20:37:00.000+02:00

The picture is of a wonderful mailart I received this summer from Lilian. The theme was :"Initials" Unfortunatly I am having a software problem and am unable to find any new pictures. They download from my camera and I can see them in one place but not in another. I can't find them to upload them -so for the moment I will have to make do with slightly older pix. To bad because I have made some serious progress on Annemaries's Rr. Which is a good thing because it has to go into the mail on Friday!
I have also done some yarn stashing- Hundertwasser sock yarn from Opal- I couldnt decide what color so I bought all 8.
I have been a bit out of touch as I have a pinched nerve in my back. . My left arm and sometimes my right have "pins and needles" It doesn't hurt but it makes it uncomfortable to do anything. Type, knit, stitch, cook ,clean - you get the idea. I am having some massages but I think it is going to take a while to get rid of.
Some other news here is that Michael's tour in The Congo was extended- first until December and then within a few days again until February or April. He will get a couple of vacations though.
Am off to work on Annemarie's RR .

A new blow dryer

2006-08-25T13:29:00.000+02:00

If you are thinking of buying a new blow dryer, go for one of those ion things. I have very dry , loosely curly hair and it always looks a little frizzy. After using my girlfriend ,Terri's, blow dryer in the states. I realised that mine just wasn't doing for me. Her's does not have the ion thing but did have a cold shot thingy and was just better than mine. So off I went shopping, and as long as I was spending that much money on a blow dryer, decided to try one with ion drying- one use and I am a convert- my hair both looks and feels better.

On the "handarbeits" front I have finished one "Lorna's Laces" sock . It turned out really nice . I love the colorway and the yarn and finished sock have a nice soft cushy feel. The second sock is cast on ,but will have to wait and be worked on in "between" times as I am commited to Annemarie's Neighborhood RR at the moment. It is my priority until it is finished and sent on it's way.

On the personal side I have had a tough week. Aside from all the usual business, Patrick got sick and had to be taken to the Dr. , medicated and pandered too. Plus the dog kept throwing up. One night I got up about 16 times between Patrick and Nala- I am not sure why I kept bothering to go back to bed ! Patrick is still home from school but should be able to go back on Monday and I think I figured what was making the dog sick- just as I was about to break down and take her to the Vet , she got better. The only thing I can figure out is that we had been feeding her the last of a bag of dog food from before we went on vacation and perhaps in the heat it had gone rancid. As soon as we started feeding her from a new bag - she quit throwing up. has this ever happened to anyone else? Or their dog? I also had to take the car to get an inspection - everything was fine except I need new brake pads in the front. They had to order them but I assume they will be here in a couple of days. It feels good to know the car has fresh oil and filters etc...
Wednesday evening I had to go to 2 parent teacher evenings. One in each of the kid' schools. Contrary to my intentions but definitly forseeable , I volunteered/ let my self be voted into some office in both classes. Neither of them horrible or a lot of work and just someone volunteering makes the whole evening be over so much quicker. Wednesday wasn't a complete loss though, while the car was at the inspection I had a pedicure. Makes it all worth it!

A vacation tidbit for thoes who are still interested. We did not manage to do some things that we typicly do on every trip- visit the Jelly Belly Factory or Marine World but we did visit the Bay Model - which I loved and the kids found BORING!!! It is a scale model of th eSan Francisco Bay and all of the water ways atatched to it. With it they can study the effects that almost anything might have on the water and it's surroundings. For instance a new bridge or digging a channel deeper. Very cool.
The picture is of my Dad and the kids at the San Francisco Bay Model in Sausalito CA.

The Birthday Boy

2006-08-20T14:40:00.000+02:00

Alexander is the one with the sunburned shoulders ;-) The others are from left to right. Danell - a school friend of mine, who just became a step grandma. Alice,my stepdad's,brothers, ex wife who I hadn't seen since I was 9 years old. One of my Mom's best friend's Sharon and her daughter- the sweet Emily.

Sunday update.

2006-08-20T14:12:00.000+02:00

Thank you for the "welcome homes" . It is nice to feel like someone noticesd when one has gone "missing"
The daily grind has set in. My big project for today was to vaccume and clean out the car. I thought I might not be able to do it as it has been raining (in August!) off and on since yesterday afternoon, but there was a break and I trundled my new "dustsucker" outside and cleaned up the car. It feels good to have it done- I have to admitt that:
1. The car is 2 years old and has never been vaccumed before.
2. It has to go in for an overdue inspection on Wednesday.
3. Michael and the kids took the two back seats out to take stuff to the dump - so it was easy to do the back.

Just so that no one gets the mistaken idea that I am a clever and tidy person who ,like my neighbor, cleans her car every weekend! It always impresses me but I just can't get into it.

I have rearranged my teaching schedual to better fit my needs and my least favorite student quit- I was obviously his least favorite tutor- so I am pretty happy with that situation.

We don't know when Michael will be home from the Congo so I am not thrillled with that situation ,but I can't change it so I am doing my best to ignore it.

I am going to try and write a little bit about our vacation in each of my mails for a while as I didn't manage to write much while I was away. Alexander turned 16 on July 3rd and my Mom threw a pool party for him. It was a great day with cake, swimming, presents, and a BBQ. These partys are always fun and interesting as my Mom invites peple that we havent seen in a while. I have a picture of Alexander blowing out his candles for this post but I can't find it so I am going to post this with picture to follow!

I am still alive

2006-08-17T20:19:00.000+02:00

Hi all. Yes, I still alive. I am not quite back with the program ,but almost. I have my dog back and Michael was here and is gone again. School has started and I am working again. I am stitching and knitting and not cleaning enough as usual. I hope to get back to reading writing and commenting on blogs soon. I hope everyone had and is having a lovely sunny summer.

Hello from California

2006-06-29T18:10:00.000+02:00

Well... we're here. No photos because I haven't set up my camera on one of the computers here ,but I hope to manage at some point. This morning I managed a good walk for the first time. Very positive. Not only do I need to walk for the health benifits, but I think it helps get over the jet lag as well. My dad lives one block over from the San Francisco Bay and there is a walking path along the water. You could not ask for a lovelier view to walk to.
Our trip here was rich in adventure as our trips tend to be. The flight (once we got on it) was good. We had great seats and it was the quickest flight from Frankfurt to CA that we have ever had. Only ten and a half hours. I don't know if our plane had turbo or the pilot thought he was Mario Andretti , but it was very pleasant. Our troubles, though, started at Munster airport as we were trying to board the first plane of the day and it was discovered that Alexander's passport had expired in March. This is one of those moments where one wonders what planet one has been living on for the last six months- certainly not this one! How could I have missed this? I honestly have no idea. The load master started to unload our bags and the woman who was supervising the bording , started making one phone call after the other in an attempt to find out if we would be allowed into the US with an expired US passport. The answer (at the last minute) was yes, and we were ushered onto the plane to the voice of the pilot explaining to everyone that we had lost our place in the take off line up because some people (us) where trying to travel on the wrong documents and the removal of our luggage was taking a few minutes, and as soon as it was off,we would proceed to take off. . He kindly explained this in two languages so that every one would know that we were at fault for any delays.
The plane actually took off only about three minutes late and one of the flight crew kindly (truly)informed me that in spite of what the pilot had said our luggage was still on the plane.

The rest of our trip was uneventful untill we reached CA- exept that we had to explain the passport situation to about twenty people, but they were all very nice about it. When we got to CA we managed to get ahold of a wrong suicase- which wasn't so bad for us ,but apparently the bag we had, had already been missing for three days and some poor woman was probably going nuts wondering where it was. The story of the exchange of bags is a huge blog in itself ,but I will leave you with the fact that the bags did get exchanged, although my bag had been "gone through" .

I then proceeded to spend HOURS on the phone trying to figure out how I am going to get Alexander back to Germany. I originaly thought- no problem. I will go fill out the form and renew his passport- no big deal, but no- because he is over 14 but not yet 18 he is in a passport no mans land. The requirements for a passport for a child of this age are a little wishy-washy. Partcularly if he was born and lives in a forign country. Also they kept saying things to me like :You just need his birth certificate and the fathers signature. There is no "just" about this, his birth certificate is in Germany and in German- they want a noterised English copy, and his father is in the Congo and not coming to Californina any time soon.
The fact that had I been aware that his passport was expired , I would have gotten him a new one before ever leaving Germany and as a consequence of this I left my home with out all of the proper documents to get a new one seems to escape everyone (in an official capacity)I talk to.

We have now decided to forget the American passport untill we are back in Germany and can apply the normal way, and are going with the German consulate who, while still wanting documentation, are willing to give him a one time entry document that will get him home.
For this I need his birth certificate, which my neighbour kindly went into my house and retrived and then put in the mail to me, a noterised letter from my husband and a noterised copy of his passport. and a couple of pix of Alexander. The documents from my husband are much easier to get to the German consulate than to the American State department because he can have them sent directly, through the diplomatic way , from Kinchase to San Francisco. Even there ,it is not his regular passport but a diplomatic temp that he is traveling on that I hope they will accept.
Is this complicated? Yes. Is it making me crazy? Yes. is it my own fault? Yes- but could sombody help me out herre just a little? I am supposed to be on vacation!!

All you ever wanted to know about packing a suitcase ,but were afraid to ask.

2006-06-25T10:36:00.000+02:00

Here are my finishe 1776 socks- I think I finished them on Thursday , but the camera was one of the few things I had actually put in the suitcase. I had to go dig it out from under the pile of stuff I had dumped on top of it. Am quite hppy with these as they came out close to identical. I need to remember to put the camera back in the suitcase now :-)
I am madly washing clothes, running the dish washer and trying to figure out what time to take my suitcases to the airport. Early check in is from 6-9 pm. but the F1 race is fron 7- 9. Pretty much however I time it, I am going to miss most of the race. I do want to do it though, it saves a lot of time in the morning, as boarding for our first flight is 5:30 am. I still have to finish packing , I just keep winging things in the suitcase and I guess when it is full I will stop.
Okay , I have to stop , I have jumped up and down about 14 times. I still have way too much to do :-0 My next post will be from CA.
Everyone enjoy your summer!

Not a good blogger

2006-06-22T07:22:00.000+02:00

I am afraid I am not a very good blogger at the moment. The boys and I are leaving for California on Monday and I am trying to get ready. It is not really that much ,but I am feeling a bit overwelmed. I finally have most of my shopping bits done but Nala still needs to be brought to my girlfriends, the kids have their last day of school and I have a friend and her son coming for the day on Sunday.
I also need to clean things out of the fridge and put things into the suitcases. I put a bathing suit in one suitcase and then set it near my closet in the hope that the rest of my clothing would migrate to the suitcase in the night. Just in case you are considering trying this- it doesn't work.

Alexander managed to get sick on Monday evening and I had to call the Dr. at 10:30 pm and he stayed until 12:30am-it was quite exiting- not. Threw my my timing for the week of though. I usualy work at the library on tuesday but as I didn't want to leave him home alone- I traded woith someone for this morning. Which means that I should be getting ready to go instead of messing about with my computer:-) so here I go.

More birthday presents!

2006-06-15T13:38:00.000+02:00

Yesterday , I received yet another birthday present- I am such a lucky girl. Cheryl sent me the Red Velvet Sampler chart which I have been drooling over and some resd white and blue sock yarn that I couldn't find around here. Isn't she a sweet heart? I think so. Thank you so much Cheryl. The floweres are not a birthday present but an "end of the school year" gift from one of my English students. Sweet.
We have had a slight break in the hot weather- this is certainly due to me having purchased two fans yesterday. I even put them together myself, breaking a nail in the process , but never the less feeling good about providing my kids with some cool air. It is still very warm and we had thunder storms all night so it is very humid today. But, I always sleep well when it thunders and rains .
It is a holiday in Germany today so I slept late and am now lounging around in my pjs- must pull myself together and take my silly dog for a walk.

More Birthday Stuff

2006-06-13T20:23:00.000+02:00

Here are some wonderful bits I received from Annemarie. I have actually had them for a couple of days but thought they deserved their own post. I didn't have any of this , so not only was it kind and sweet of Annemarie to send me these birthday surprises (which it was and she is ) but she was inspired in her choices. Thank you sooooo much, Annemarie and Jula and Pelle.

Two more things I can cross off my list.

2006-06-12T14:47:00.000+02:00

My finished square on Barbara's NRR and a pair of socks. The RR is based on a chart by Linda Meyers called "Willow Hill Farm". I changed a bit ,left out a lot and added the bunny who is of my own design. I was able to "design" my own bunny only after seeing one that Annemarie came up with, and then thinking really hard about what it looked like. There are probably a thousand charts with bunnies just like this out there - but i don't own one, I discovered after paging through about a meter of cross stitch charts, books and mags. I like it though and hope Barbara does as well.

The socks are my "Starbuck's" socks as that is where I cast them on.They are made out of Austerman Step with aloe vera and chestnut.They are really soft . I was worried that the colorway would be totally ugly but ended up liking it. They are very obviously fraternal ,but as I was worried about them being ugly anyway I wasn't too worried about that. Maybe the next ones will match.

5 things

2006-06-09T18:48:00.000+02:00

Nabbed this from Barbara's blog
5 things that are in my fridge:
yellow American mustard,
sweet Bavarian mustard,
a jar of chocolate orange spread from Barcelona that soundd better than it tasted,
kohlrabi,
a bottle of Berentzen's that belongs to Cheryl

5 items in my closet:
a 22 year old, pink, sweatshirt that says "big weenie cafe" ,
my high school diploma,
a child sized violin that both my mother and my grandmother learned to play on,
a black knit dress,
my life jacket

5 items in my purse/handbag/ tote:
I am using a small purse right now and carrying a tote extra eveywhere I go- purse first:
prescription sunglasses,
German driver's licence,
three Clinique lipsticks,
pink cell phone,
a coupon for a chinese restaurantin San Rafael California from last year- used,
an Ikea card

In my tote:
knitting project,
stitching project,
scissors,
book,
bottle of water,

5 items in my car:
bags of shoes for the old clothing collection,
a small pillow liberated from a large airline
a blanket liberated from a different large airline, but from business class-quite a nice one,
a cool pack from when Patrick hurt his knee
pink, blue tooth head set that matches cell phone

5 people to tag:
Any one who likes this kind of silly, time waster- like me:-)

Sorry

2006-06-09T08:38:00.000+02:00

Sorry if I haven't commented on your blog lately- Blogger, my computer, the stars, all seem to have been playing against me . I hope things have taken a turn for the better.
I think this will be a short entry- I should be getting ready to leave for my hair appointment-by this I mean I should at least put on clothes and brush my hair. People here are quite critical of others who run around in their pjs .
I did not get as much done over the four day weekend as I had hoped- do these things ever work out the way one hopes?
Oops- the post man just showed up with yet another package from Amazon, with yet another sock knitting book. Just happily combining my hobbies.
Okay , while Blogger was uploading my fotos , I managed to get dressed and brush my teeth and hair. Each with the proper brush! I even managed to find a top and bra in the same colors. Important because I have no shoulders and people are often treated to the sight of my bra straps. If they are the same color as my shirt I can pretend it is part of my look- right? Okay maybe not.
The scissor fob for is for an exchange and has been sent to Australia- I haven't heard that it has arrived yet ,but I don't think the recipient reads my blog. The socks are for Moni and I mailed them on Wednesday- they didn't have to go very far and should have gotten to her on Thursday ,but I haven't heard from her either. She should definitly get them today, but I don't think she reads my blog either:-( I was able to cross one project off my list as it was a replacement for someone else and they are going to do it themselves. In this way my list is actually getting things crossed off of it. I was going to say shorter, but I keep adding things to the bottom.

I would also have more time for stitching if a certain person (can you guess who?) wouldn't break ketchup bottles in the family room and cause his mother to spend two days cleaning the sofa, carpet, walls etc.. because we keep finding more drips and splats. Maybe the kids could just stop eating atogether- think of how much time that would save- shopping, cooking, ceaning up after- no, it's not going to work. Ah well., off to the hairdresser.

Michael has made it to the Southern Hemesphere

2006-06-04T19:32:00.000+02:00

First of all - as you can see I am trying a different font and color. I must be feeling creative today.
The picture is one of my favorites- My three "men" taken Christmas 2004. I use it on my monitor as wallpaper and I never get tired of seeing it.
On Thusday, the first, Michael and his boxes and bags were picked up by car and driven to Brussels. The next morning he flew from Brussels to Kinshasa, which is the capitol of the Congo- the bigger of the two that is on the right when you look at the map. He will be there for three months ,helping the Congalese goverment organise and set up an IT system. I have talked to him twice and he seems quite stunned by the whole thing.
We are medium well traveled people ,but he says it is like nothing he has ever seen or experienced before. The first thing he said was : It is hot and dark. The heat was expected but the fact that he is right below the equator and the time of year, mean that it is pitch dark by 6:30 pm . The other thing is that he (we) have never experienced people that poor before, and the amazing contrast of people who either have nothing or live in mini palaces and drive Rolls Royces. The other thing that he noticed right away is that everyone seemed happy and friendly. A lesson for us in that it is proof that wealth and happyness are not the same.
My four day weekend is not going quite as I planned as I have ended up driving the boys to the movies, going bowling with them and promising Alexander a movie tomorrow. I have also done tons of laundry-it feels kind of wierd to be washing Michael,s clothes, ironing his shirts etc.. and knowing he won't need them for three months- and also that I won't have any laundry from him in that time.
It makes the three months seem very real.
I did manage to walk both yesterday and today and to get some things on my "finish" list finished or at least worked on. I will save all of that for tomorrow or maybe I will wait untill Wednesday and give a report about all that I have finished in the last week. I would like to be able to repot then that all seven things on my list are finished and things in the mail etc... but I would be content if half were finished. LOL
I just remembered I wanted to say something more about the peacock. Yes, he is very loud- but I actually like it. I am not a peson who sleeps well and I enjoy the screaming peacock day and night- makes me feel I am not alone. Also- I said "our" peacock but he doesn't belong to us , but is part of the farm we live on. Right now we just have one peacock and one peahen but have at different times had up to five.

The promised peacock picture

2006-05-31T13:21:00.000+02:00

Here is the long promised picture of our peacock. Every time I went out to take one, either he would disapear or it would start to rain. I think the only times it has not rained in the last 4 days is when I was at work or while I was in the shower. Anyway- he is lovely , isn't he!!
Michael is leaving for Brussels tomorrow and then on to The Congo on Friday morning We went to Munster this morning to have breakfast and do a bit of shopping. We were finished eating and moving on to the shopping bit when my phone rang and it was (surprise) Patrick's school. He had hurt his knee and needed to be picked up. Are cell phones a blessing or a curse?

Know he is laying on the couch with his knee iced and up ,but it doesn't look too bad and I assume that he will be okay buy tomorrow- or this afternoon if anyone calls with a good idea -like going to the swimming pool.
We have another four day weekend coming up and I plan to finish Barbara's RR- knit a sock, stitch and finish a scissor fob for an exchange and work on the newly started gift sampler. let's see what I say to this ambitious list next Wednesday.

Drying floss

2006-05-29T14:00:00.000+02:00

I rinsed this blue floss for a sampler I am working on. My poor family is so used to my strange goings on that they did not even think twice about floss drying in the middle of the living room. Now that it is dry , I have it hanging over light fixture- thay haven't let that bother them either.
I had a lovely birthday - thank you Barbara, Annemarie and Dianne for the birthday wishes.
I had a whole houseful of wonderful friends as guests from Saturday to Sunday. I knew that some friends were coming , but Anja and Roman and the kids showed up and surprised me. Which is the kind of surpise I love. We BBQed and drank wine and beer, and the kids ran in and out of the house, even when it was raining and after dark. At midnight everyone seemed to disapear. Then the lights went out and they came back into the dinning room with a cake with 42 candles, sparklers and presents- totaly fun. I received a book , a necklace, a ring, a vase, flowers, nordic walking poles, a poem and a picture from my boys, and lots of lovely bits of colored, cut and pasted paper from the little girls. In the morning we all had breakfast together before everyone left- today is not a holiday here :-) We spent the day lounging around and watching the Formula One race. What I didn't do was stitch or knit as I was tired and afraid of mistakes.
I have to work today , but now that I have given notice, I can count the days- not just until vacation, but also until my last work day!

Birthday traditions in Germany

2006-05-27T11:41:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow is my birthday ( 42 if you want to know) . In Germany, a day with rules, like any other here in his country. The first is that it is the birthday persons responsibility to celebrate. Birthday partys are seldom given for someone. As the birthday girl , I must shop and clean and cook and bake in preperation for any amount of people. This I have accomplished with the help of my DH over the last two days.
The other rule is that it is considered unlucky to celebrate or even wish someone "happy birthday" before their actual birthday. This often complcates the situation- you are expected to provide for everyone -sometimes on a Wednesday evening! There is a small saving grace to this rule. It doesn't help you on Wednesday ,but in years where your birthday falls on a Sunday , you may cheat by inviting people on Saturday and then "celebrating" after midnight. This is what we are doing tonight.
A few out of town friends and the neighbors are coming by and Michael will BBQ (never let a little rain stop you) . To go with the BBQ I have baked a couple of loaves of bread and some brownies. I am also planning some American style coleslaw and an insalata Caprise. If I can get ahold of some nice strawberries I might make a shortcake as well.
To sweeten the situation a bit (ha ha) Patrick got sick Thursday evening and we ae still not sure if he has Mono or "just" tonsillitis. Which ever it is he is taking antibiotics and is no longer contagious - he is also feeling much better , if sleepy.
I have already received some lovely birthday presents and cards, My gemini exchange , bracelets, earings, and a darling inlay wooden box from my Mom , a card and money from my Dad and a card, and money from my in-laws. The money from my in-laws was almost exactly the amount that I needed to pay for the stack of books and cd's that have been piling up in my shopping cart at Amazon for the last month or so, and so I hopped over there and hit the
" one click order" and will have something to look forward to in the next week.
Tomorrow on my actual birthday - I am planning on watching the Formula One race in Monaco and relaxing with my stitching and knitting- we'll see!

Our peacock has been released from his cage, as some entity decided that the bird flu danger in our area is more or less over, and he is quite happy to be out and about. Once I am showered and dressed I am going to go out and see if I can get a picture of him with his tail open, to post here as a treat for all who are patient and kind enough to read my blog.

Some finishes

2006-05-23T21:19:00.000+02:00

I have had A few finishes lately but as they are all gifts, I can't show them right away. This bear was an exchange in my mailart group. I bought the bear at Ikea and then dressed him as a pirate. Note the hook inplace of his right paw- this was my DH's idea- cute huh!! I packed him in his own little bag to send him to his new owner and he arrived today. The yellow socks are for my Mom. I finished them on Sunday and mailed them to her on Monday. She knows they are on there way so no real surprise there. They are such a pretty soft yellow- I really like them. Alexander picked out the pattern. I started a new pair of socks for my friend Moni. Worked on Barbara's RR last night- it is coming along nicely. I am planning on starting a new project tonight or tomorrow- a sampler for a special occasion for a special person. I received the chart in the mail today and am looking forward to seeing it grow. I also have another pair of socks on the needles- another gift. I seem to be doing a lot of stuff for other people lately- but it feels nice:-)

Mothers day

2006-05-16T13:44:00.000+02:00

Here is a not very good picture of my beautiful mother's day flowers. The kids did a great job of picking them out and I was thrilled to get them. I also received a cup of tea, breakfast and Alexander Bbqed dinner. Pretty nice! Monday things were back to normal. At 7 am I had gotten up, woken the kids, laid out their clothes, made breakfast, made lunches, cleaned up from the same, started the washer, started the dryer, started the dishwasher, made sure the dog got water and food and let her out the back door, swept the kitchen , yelled at the kids to brush their teeth and was standing at the front door to kiss the kids and wave good bye to them.
As they rounded the corner, I decided to call the dog in. I called and whistled a couple of times and was getting a little pissy and decided to just close the door and wait for her to come home. I closed the door and turned ,to see the dog lying behind me in the hallway . She was looking at me like "yes?" I guess she came in the back door. I went back to bed!

New socks

2006-05-13T12:59:00.000+02:00

The pink socks are finished! I love this color- reminds me of cotton candy. This is the first pair that I have made with a cuff to turn down. AThe yarn is a cotton/wool mix from Regia. The next pair I cast on is going to be for my Mom- yellow.
Right now I am working on finishing up a mail art. It needs to go into the mail on Monday, which shouldn't be a problem.
The bee scissor fob and the scissors are part of what I sent to Von for our Gemini birthday exchange. As she has received it and opened it ;-) I thought I could post a pic now. When I picked up the colors, I was afraid I was going to hate it ,but when it was finished I was so pleased with it that I think I might have to make one for myself.
I did manage a walk already this morning so I can spend the rest of the day between stitching and laundry.

Gemini Exchange

2006-05-11T12:22:00.000+02:00

Well, You guys convinced me:-) I was being strong ,but then at about 11 pm I jumped up , grabbed the package and ripped it open. Was I ever glad!
Absolute tons of wonderful stuff. DMC, charts with beads and charms and even a skein of Waterlillies in a yummy green and white with a touch of pink. The charts are all to my taste and I own none of them. Two of them are "Just Nan's" and include the beads and charms. I love these and they are just not available in Germany. Thank you so much Connie. It was a great package and I will have lots of fun stitching all the charts and useing the DMC over the next year. Okay I am dreaming- I will never get to all of these charts in the next year, but a girl can hope.

A small rant

2006-05-09T14:33:00.000+02:00

This is just a small rant. For me anyway as I am known among my friends and family as quite the ranter (is this a word?) .
Why, oh why , would anyone in their right mind publish a "how to " book that is not bound in such a way as to lie flat?
I am a huge book lover and own many of the things (this is an understatement) . My novels tend to be treated as royalty- I usually use a book mark to mark my place. This can be an old receipt or a ticket stub ,whatever. I would never put a stitched book mark in a book. I would be afraid 1) of ruining the stitching and 2) ruining the book. See , this is why my family runs and hides when I start to rant. I have trouble staying on the subject. You guys are lucky , you can just click off my blog if it is too tiresome to read any further. Anyway..... although I have seen many beautiful stitched book marks I would collect them and not actually put them in a book.
Back to the laying flat thing. I just don't get it. Why print a book on knitting, stitching, cooking , home improvement, piano notes, that someone will need at least one hand to hold open ,while they are trying to do something that they don't know how to do (Otherwise they wouldn't need he book . Right?) that probably already requires two hands. ( I had to go look up how to spell "require" don't want to be the subject of someone elses rant about people who rant,but can't spell . Which I can't ,but I like to pretend) . I can't tell you how many times I have tried to hold open a knitting book with my elbow or knee while reading how to slip some stitch that isn't happening for me any way,and the dang book keeps flipping closed, or watched my son try to keep a book of music open on the book holder thingy ,while he tries to learn a song on the piano. I mean they give you notes for both hands, how do they think you can see the notes if thebook keeps flipping closed?

We have a small advantage here ,in that I own a pretty good, copy , printer, scanner. My excuse is that I need it for my english lessons .Which I do . But, the real reason I bought it was to be able to print out free patterns from the internet and to copy pages fom "how to "books so that they can easily be clipped or taped to something at eye level . Some books, though, are bound in a way that prevent things close to the binding from being copied without hurting the book.
You all just got lucky. My next English student just showed up so I am forced to stop this. If anyone has an answer for me I would love to hear it ,but I am afraid there just isn't one.

Gemini Exchange

2006-05-09T13:00:00.000+02:00

Ohhhhh- I am quite excited. I received what I think is my Gemini exchange pressie today. Thank you , thank you Connie! Is there a protocol on this? Can I open it now, or do I have to wait for my birthday? I can at least open the card- right?
I tend to be a waiter on stuff like this. I like to be the last to open my christmas presents and I like to be surprised about what I am getting. But, I am not sure I can sit here and wait another 19 days to open this. If I don't do it now I will probably have to get up in the middle of the night ,some time next week, and rip it open. LOL !!

Gemini exchange

2006-05-07T14:47:00.000+02:00

I just wanted to mention that I did put my Gemini exchange in to the post last week.

mixed nuts

2006-05-07T12:50:00.000+02:00

Walnuts:
Here is the picture that I wanted to post a couple of weeks ago on my Dad's birthday. It is from last summer and we are at Marine World. Looking at it I am amazed at how much the kids have changed in the last 10 months. I think that my parents are going to be quite surprised at how grown up they are this year. I will try and remember to take a picture in the same place this year so we have something to compare it to.

it took me so long to post this picture because for some reason ,completely unknown to me, all of my summer vacation 2005 pix ,landed in a different file than all the other pix. I could only ever find them on accedent. I had my husband reunite them the last time I happened upon them and he was home at the same time!

Pecans:

I found a new vegetable, well new to me. I discovered ,while visiting Anja , that I love raw kohlrabi. I had only ever eaten it cooked and found it kind of slimy. I always ate it when it was on my plate ,but certainly never bothered to buy one and cook it myself. We also never ate it at home. This surprises me as I am from Califonina and my Mom is big into vegetables. I would always choose to eat broccoli, for instance, over an apple. Anyway ... While I was visiting Anja ,she cut up a kohlrabi and set it out and I discovered a "new" low fat, healthy snack. Yea!! Does anyone know if it is called kohlrabi in English ?

Cashews:

It is Formula One Sunday which means that in spite of the lovely weather ,we will be spending some time in front of the TV. We did however manage to get in a good...

Macadamia;

walk. The dog was quite exited when she saw us putting on our tennies and ball caps. We had quite a nice walk and met a lot of families on bike's. The only problem was that it is quite windy and as we were going over an overpass my hat flew off. It landed on the "schnell strasse" below" . It is one of my favorite ballcaps- I think that is sort of a dumb statement because if I didn't like it I guess I wouldn't wear it -or even have it... Anyway, there are some stairs down to the street and we went down and Michael risked life and limb to rescue my hat. It didn't even get run over.

No peanuts ,because Patrick is allergic, and no hazelnuts because, I think they are yucky :-)

Michael"s socks

2006-05-04T17:36:00.000+02:00

Here is the promised picture of Michael's plain black socks. I think the shadows are the most interesting hing in the photo :-) I have number 1 of a cotton candy pink pair on OTN.

"The stitching area "or "It's Rachael's -don't touch it"

2006-05-03T20:04:00.000+02:00

I thought I would treat you to a picture of "my chair" today. This is where I always sit to stitch and knit. Other people are allowed to sit here, but only when I am otherwise occupied. You can see two lights here ,but I actually have four! The one attached to the bookcase was the last purchased and is a daylight lamp and my favorite. The chair and footstool are gliders and the knitted wrap on the chair is " Big Blue" .

Big Blue was knitted for me by the lovely Cheryl . It started out as a kind of shawl, but due to a small miscalculation, ended up being so big that when I put it over my shoulders I have a train. I love it though and use it to cover myself when I take a nap on the sofa :-) On one side of my chair is "My table". If people have to sit in chair I can live with it, but my table is pretty much off limits. I try and tidy it up regularly ,but as you can see it is overdue. The glass is a huge canning jar that I stole from my neighbor and I use it to drop my orts in. On the other side of the chair is a basket for sock wool ,a box for whatever stitching projects are in the holding pattern, and a frame/chart holder. Next to that is a bookcase with all my hardback stitching, sewing, and knitting books. I have to admit that while I am flexible about many things , my hadwork is not one of them. Please let me sit in my chair with my light just so and my books within arms reach. I do have more stash areas including a large bookshelf a small rolling cart, a small chest another rolling cart and ...oops I keep thinking of more stash areas. Better not to think to hard on this.

On the chair seat you can see my almost finished project of the moment. Michael's plain ,black socks. Not really interesting and kind of slow going, but I should get them finished tonight or tomorrow. I will post a pic when they are finished-however boring. Happy stitching.

A very quiet week.

2006-04-27T10:01:00.000+02:00

It's Thursday and no one here has been in the hospital- had a birthday-made a major purchase or anything else truly worthy of notice.
I have been to work ,washed the floors and painted my nails this week (toes pink and fingers clear). I am also working on a black sock for Michael, as so many men have told him that they hate to wear anything but handmade socks. He is now willing to try them. For some reason though I misscounted the heel and had to redo it four times. The knitting part doesnt take that long,but the pulling out of the mistake and not completly losing my place is tough and takes ages.
Today is my Dad's birthday- Happy Birthday Dad, if you are reading this. Michael is going to Dresden this weekend for his free weekend- I had mine last week ,remember? It seems so long ago already. Tomorrow morning I have my last stitching class and afterward am going to do the last bit of shopping for my Gemini birthday exchange.
I found a nice picture of my dad and the boys from last summer but once again I can't get it to download - i will try again this afternoon.

The promised pictures

2006-04-24T10:46:00.000+02:00

Here are the promised pictures. A pair of socks , finished in a race with the Formula One drivers in Imola. I watched too much and knit too little and lost. LOL . The yarnis for four pairs of socks- a black pair for Michael,which I started last night, the blue strip is for Moni. The other dark yarn is actually a dark blus silk mix with sparkle. I hope to find some dark blue beads to add to the cuff of this pair. I don't yet have a plan for the off white and blue yarn. I just liked it. I also bought three pairs of circs. One pair is Inox and the other two are Addi premiuns. I have read so much about these needles that I have to try them. I have been ironing this morning , but Larry King live is on so it is my knitting/stitching time.

Vacation bits

2006-04-23T19:00:00.000+02:00

I made it home safely from my mini vacation- a day late and but in good time to see the Formula One qualifying ;-) . Had a very relaxing trip ,not hurrying to go anywhere or do anything in a short time frame. I did have a couple of small set backs ,but nothing tragic.
On Wednesday I drove to Moni's and on the way tried to go to a LNS that I had been meaning to visit for about three years. I have ordered things from there and spoken to them a number of times and thought I would take the opportunity and drive out of my way to actually see the shop. When I got there it was gone! I spent about an hour trying to find out if I was in the right place and if so what had happened to the shop. I finally found out that it had suddenly closed about a month before. Sad- and a pain for me. After I had lunch and a cup of tea ,it was off to Moni's. The weather was so nice that we were able to sit outside and chat and dringk pots of tea until about 7pm. Lovely.
Then next afternoon I continued my trip with a visit to Annemarie in Maastricht. I had a little adventure in driving in that I was almost to her house when I decided that I must have gone wrong somewhere and turned around. I quickly found a place to park and called her . With a little encouragment I made it all the way to Annemarie's house and even managed to park my car in a small space behind her house. It was fantastic to meet Annamarie and Pelle ,of course- I had a wonderful afternoon and hope she did too. We had lunch in a little cafe in front of her house and then we walked into the center of Maastricht- which is a town I aways enjoy. We hit all he LNS/LYS in the hopes of finding some nice sock wool- which we didn't, but it was fun anyway. We then ate an ice cream at an Australian ice cream shop- mmm yummy. We then walked back to the house . Jula was home from work so we got some Chinese for dinnner, another of my favorites, We then talked until far to late. Poor Pelle should have been in bed ,but was remakably good tempered, and I should long have been at Anja's. I did have a chance to show off a few bits of my stitching and knitting and to check out what Annemarie is working on. She stitches beautifuly and has chosen a super chart for Carol's RR. Thank you for the lovely afternoon and Evening Annemarie. I hope we can do it again soon.
Friday I spent with my friend Anja and her kiddies- Ciara and Mika. In the afternoon we mananged a trip to Aachen to the big Junghans craft store-where-hooray- I finaly found a great selection of knitting needles. They also had a good (not great) selection of sock yarn and stitching bits, pluss tons of other fun stuff. All of which made it definiatly worth the trip.
Friday evening was another beautiful one and we were able to eat outside and even sit out until after 10 pm- wonderful.
Saturday I drove home and managed not to get a speeding ticket so it was an all around successful trip.

This afternoon I finished the second of a pair of socks while watching the Formula One race. I thought I could get it finished before the race was over and was knitting like mad ,but they were to quick for me. I had it finished before the interviews were over though- so I was close.
I thought I had downloaded a picture of the new socks and my stash to this blog ,but they seem to have disappeared into cyber space. I will have to go searching for them.
Well, I have downloaded my pix twice and blogger keeps eating them ,so I will try again tomorrow.

Going to have a couple days of vacation!

2006-04-19T09:33:00.000+02:00

Here are my three Easter Bunnys. We had a lovely lunch in a hotel and they provided some child care and amusement. They even hid eggs in the hotel entrance hall and had an egg hunt. After lunch all thelittle kids lft and my kids ,and Leonie, took over the craft corner and amused themselves making rude bunnys and hanging them on the wall of the otherwise elegant conference room.

alexander was at the doctor this morning and was given a clean bill of health ,and Patrick is in Koln visiting a friend so I have decided to go away for a couple of days.

I am going to drive to the German/ Netherlands border where I have friends. First to Moni ,who has sprained her foot,and then tomorrow I am going to meet Annemarie- in person (woohoo) , and then I will spend a night with Anja and then back home again. Between visiting friends I hope to hit at least one LNS and one LYS both of which I have never been to before. So I might have a stash report when I get home. Now I better pack a few things and get going before someone comes up with the idea that I should do something else before I go:-)

Are you ready for Easter?

2006-04-15T20:44:00.000+02:00

We are- or as ready as were going to get. The boys dyed the eggs , to help out the Easter Bunny , I baked another easter bread-the first two have been eaten already. And Michael made arrangments for us to meet friends for brunch tomorrow .
Watching the boys dye eggs made me remember one year when Michael was deployed in Jugoslavia over Easter.
Friends of ours lived in Amsterdam and I took the kids there to spend the holiday. Their idea of Easter was brunch in a nice hotel . I like this idea too ,but the kids required an egg hunt first. After the kids were put to bed Saturday evening , I unpacked the egg cooker, the eggs and dye that I had brought with me. Both Judy and Jun rolled their eyes and made that "this is why we don't have kids face" . I begged them to help me and they both agreed, although I don't think Jun ,who is Japanese, had ever dyed eggs before. Sometime around midnight I gave up and went to bed and left the two of them happily creating tiny works of art . I had shown them how ,if you color on an egg with crayon and then dip it in the dye , the dye will not stick to the egg. I use this techniqe to do things like write "Happy Easter" in block letters. They took this and ran with it. They made really wonderful eggs with names, animals and fantasy designs. The kids were thrilled with these eggs- me too.
They are divorced now and we haven't seen them in ages, although I spoke with both of them less than a year ago. They helped make a holiday that could have been difficult, with Papa away, into something special.
I wish everyone of you a Happy Easter, Passover, or just a lovely day .

Promised updates

2006-04-13T19:41:00.000+02:00

Here are a couple of pix , to show what I have been up to on my "holiday". My goal was to be somewhat further along than I actually am, but things will happen.
Alexander needed new clothes -again. We have been invited to go out to brunch on Sunday and realised that A has only lined ,winter pants. Until now that has been good ,but it is spring! Also he has outgrown all of the nice, button down ,oxford shirts that my dad bought him last year. So off we went to Munster , in the pouring rain , to fight the crowds, with our still limping son , to buy him clothing. We managed two pairs of jeans, a pair of "nice" pants , his first adult shirt and tie and a nice-ish sports jacket. . I will try and remember to take a picture on Sunday when he is all dressed up.
I am off now, to watch "Law and Order " and work on Barbara's RR some more.

An important finish

2006-04-12T15:49:00.000+02:00

I am letting out a sigh of relief. I have been messing around with a mail art for weeks and it is finally finished. I am not sure why I had such a hard time getting it done, exept that I wanted it to be "just so" and a large part of getting it right was in the finishing-which is not my strong point. I can't post a picture yet because it is supposed to be a surprise ,but as soon as it arrives at it's home I will put up one ..or two. I am very pleased with the way it came out and all of the thought that went into it shows.

Alexander is doing well and now just has to avoid being overactive for a week or so, and as my house guests have gone home (sniff,sniff) I have some time to work on Barbara's RR and my socks. Hope to have an update picture on those tomorrow.

It wasn't Patrick this time.

2006-04-08T09:21:00.000+02:00

To start with- here is my latest sock finsh. I am very happy with this pair. I tried a bunch of new stuff while knitting these socks. I used bamboo needles for the first time, I went down a needle size, used a yarn with a coton content, knit a pattern for the first time and a different heel and I tried grafting the toe. I was pretty happy with the way everything but the toe came out. I think it just needs practice though and will definitly try again.

On the personal news front. Yesterday I was in Munster for a stitching class afterwards I was going to do some sock yarn shopping when my handy let me know. I had received a message. I actually read it which is quite unusual for for me. It was a message from my DH asking me to call right away. I did and when he answerd the first thing he said was "everything is all right" by which I knew it wasn't. He them proceeded to tell me that our oldest son was ,at that moment ,being operated on. DH was packing a few things for DS1 while I drove home to pick him up and we managed to get to the hospital before he came out of recovery.
The story I have been able to piece together is this: Alexander woke up with some pain in his abdomen, but not too bad ,so he didn't mention it. I have to say here that he looked fine to me. At some point in the morning it got so bad that he went to the school office and they tried to call my DH and myself. We were both carrying our cell phones ,but for some reason they could not reach us. The school then called our neighbors ,who also have my cell number,but they had just left on vacation. Then the school called our GP's office , he was not in ,but only his partner. I don't know who decided to call out GP at home ,but "thank you" to whoever it was. Our GP , the lovely Stefan, actually got into his car and drove to my DS's school , examined him and then drove him to the hospital. I think nothing will get you into an operating room quicker than showing up with your own doctor! They discovered that Alexander had a twisted testical, which needs to be fixed ASAP , if it is to be saved. So they did. It turned out that I actually know the doctor who did the surgery , which is a nice feeling. I sat with Alexander untill about 8pm and as I am writing this at 9 :55 am, he called and said he could be picked up from the hospital. DH just went to get him .
We took our GP a bottle of wine last night , but the poor man was still doing home visits at 9:30 pm, so we drank a glass with his wife. I think I owe him some huge thanks and a home baked bread or something. Thank God we live in Germany where doctors still still make home (and school) visits and hospitals only wonder about who will pay ,after the fact. . A huge "thank you" as well ,to all who took the initiative to get my child the help that he needed ,even though they couldn't find us or "get our permission'.

Husband living at home

2006-04-04T07:43:00.000+02:00

I know- most husbands live at home -but mine doesn't usually. His job and the age of our kids has made it a neccesity for us to live in different places for the last couple of years. That he travels a lot in his job means that he also doesn't come home every weekend. It can be tough,but I sometimes think that is is even harder when he comes back for a while! We are glad he is here though.

He will be spending 3 months in the Congo,working, this summer . Until he leaves ,he is taking a French course. French is the main language in the Congo and while his French works for a short vacation in France (mine does too-and I have never had a French lesson , so this isn't saying much) he can't converse. Anyway...... It just so happens that there is a military language school near where we live. Which means that he will be living at home from now until he leaves for the Congo. Pretty cool. I just have to get used to finding his shoes and coffee cups strewn about the house on a daily basis again. A small price. I guess ;-)

We had a lovely weekend. Visited Anja and Roman, went to Charity Night and Danced for hours. My idea of fun!!Charity Night was much better than last year ,but not as good as years ago when Anja and I were on the organizing commity ( of course) they have found a better band though and that is great as the music can really make or break a function like this.

One huge complaint I have, has nothing to do with the orginization and everything to do with people just lacking sense. Charity night starts at 7pm and consists of food eaten from booths, dancing with loud music and lots of alcohol. Why do people bring their children? I would never have subjected one of my children ,as an infant, to such loud music. It can't be good for their little ear drums. And in my opinion ( I am pretty opinionated) no child under 16 belongs at a public function, after about 9pm, where huge amounts of alcohol are being consummed. A four year old doesn't belong there at all. It's just too dangerous. I always ask myself why, why do people bring their children places like this. I have yet to come up with an answer.

A little stitching news- I have made some progress on my sampler mailart ,but can't post a pic as it is a surpise for the recipient. I have also worked on Barbara's RR- maybe I will have enough progress by tomorrow to post another pic and, I have finished a sock and cast on the second.
Everything about this pair of socks is a new experience. I have gone down a needle size, am using bamboo instead of metal, a yarn with cotton in it, a reenforced heel , and this sock has a pattern and is not "just" stockinett stitch. All of this for the first time. Plus I am actually working from the book that Cheryl , so kindly, brought me. The first sock came out great and I am exited to get the second one finished and start another- something new!!

Funny

2006-04-03T07:36:00.000+02:00

You Are Karamel Sutra

Plain on the outside, but once someone gets in, they're stuck

What Flavor Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Are You?

I rarely eat ice cream but ,I love Ben and Jerry's. Good thing it is hard to get here in Germany.

A peek at Barbara's RR

2006-03-30T10:03:00.000+02:00

I am still stitching and not just knitting!!!
This is the house that I am working on for Barbara's neighborhood. I hope she likes it.

Big boys have bithdays too.

2006-03-29T09:45:00.000+02:00

Michaels 45 th birthday was on the 25th of March . I think the best present was that it was on a Saturday this year,so we were all at home. Even Cheryl and Rick were here from Virginia. Birthday presents at our house happen at the breakfast table, or in Mom And Dad's bed if the kids can't wait that long.
We had cake with candles at coffee time and in the evening a small party with neighbors and friends. I love cooking for guests and always feel good when people complement my party meals. One of our neighbors is a professional cook and so I was thrilled when he ate three helpings of chile . Also got lots of complements on my homemade breads.
All in all ,a very nice day for my DH!!

2006-03-27T14:41:00.000+02:00

Socks number four- these have the official name- Cheryl's Sedona Socks. The next pair are going to be something different. I want to try a pattern that has some other stitch combination in it.

Here but not here.

2006-03-24T11:59:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone,
I am here but not here. I have house guests and my DH who is here so seldom, is home and it is his 45th birthday this weekend. I am sontinuing to stitch on Barbara's RR and work on socks- and I MUST start my Sampler mailart. I t will be a couple of days though before I can get back to my Blog with any regularity. Have a lovely weekend.

Das Wochenende im Uberblick

2006-03-18T09:17:00.000+01:00

In English- An overview of the weekend. I finished my third pair of socks yesterday. One is slightly larger than the other -gotta get one of those little counter doohickys. Aside from that this is the best pair so far. The heels look good and the knitting is even with no bobbles and best of all I did them all by myself. I am starting to understand the directions in the sock knitting pamphlet. Amazing. I think Cherly is bringing me a knitting book and a sock knitting book so maybe I will soon be able to knit socks with a pattern and not just your basic k2 p2 cuff and a stockinett stich rest. I would love to do some of the lace socks and beaded cuff socks I have seen out there.
Barbara's RR showed up this morning so even though I started another sock last night , her RR gos to the top of my list of projects. After that is to get my Sampler mailart going. Then come the socks, the heart wall hanging, several Chatelains etc.... I think I need to give up my job to keep up with all my stitching :-) But then how will I pay for it. A teufels kreis (devil's circle) if I ever had one.

Everyone else here is still asleep. I think they are waiting for the repeat of the qualifying for the formula one race to begin before they show thier faces. This will give me a chance to start pulling flosses for Barbara' s RR.
Other than that - Michael is home. Maarcus is here for the weekend and it's not raining and I think my bread came out okay. So life is good!

The earth is flat

2006-03-16T07:24:00.000+01:00

Here is a picture of my (more or less) finished square for my RR. I is going into the mail this morning.
I seem to have been having a series of slightly "off" days lately. Or maybe I am just noticing because I am writing about them in this blog?

Yesterday morning, Patrick said to me at the breakfast table: A picture fell off the wall on me last night. I asked if it had broken etc.. Oh yes- he answered- didn't you see it? I went into his room and stared with horrer at the shards of glass lying on his pillow, the top of his bed and the headboard. It was quite a large framed poster and the frame gave way and the whole thing fell on his head in the night. Patrick being Patrick just got up and came and got into bed with me. There was not a scratch on him, he was so lucky!

After the kids went off to school, I had a couple of appointments. First to bring Michael's car to the dealer for a saftey inspection. This is known as the "TUV" in Germany. I drove over. realized I had forgotten the car papers, drove home and retrieved them. Discused when the car would be finished. Me, insisting that I didn't need it before two thirty and the mechanic, insisting it would be done much sooner. No matter- off I went to the dentist. There, thank goodness, all went well. Check up, x-ray,cleaning, finished. I did have the usual facinating conversation with the dental hyginist. Her son is in Patrick's class at school , she talked and I went hrmmader dvrbsa.

I mailed two packages, bought a pair of jeans, and went to the bank and then started to walk home, on the way , I decided to swing by and see if the car was actually finished. It was not .But
they promised that if I waited 15 minutes it would be. HAH. An hour later, the car was finished. It passed it's saftey inspection exept that the airbag light wasn't behaving. They were able to fix this by removing two coke bottles from under the drivers seat ( I did say it was my DH's car) which were banging againt the plug and causing it not to have a good connection. I paid my money ,got the stickers and the car is good for another three years- by which time we won't own it anymore.
Once I got home I decided to take a short nap. The phone took this as a signal to ring every two minutes. My office telling me one of my classes was canceled, Patrick, telling me that he was at a friends and would be home by seven. The physical tharapist asking where Patrick was. Oops- now Patrick was in trouble.
Decided the nap wasn't going to work and got up to get ready for work , when the doorbell decided to take a turn. I opened the door to four (yes four!) police in a van who were returning Nala, who had apparently decided to go to the gas station and see if anyone there would give her a treat. Someone had called them because she was too far from home , but they were pretty sure where she belonged. Thank goodness. There were some questions about , insurance , chipping and tatoos ,but as they had not found her in the street and Nala has all of the above , there was nothing they could do. We once called the police here to report pistol shots fired and had to fight to get them to even come out, but let your dog leave the yard and they show up with four police and a van.
Work was uneventful, well nothing involving several three year olds is uneventful ,but nothing out of the ordinary. On my way home,I dropped by the grocery store and when I came out someone had "parked in" half of the parking lot. The half where I was. I asked to have the car owner paged and by the time I was finished packing my grocerys in my car she had moved it -to an equaly bad place. I made her move it again. There were empty parking spaces but she was insistent in parking in the drive way. It's only a very small lot. I won't even go into my rant about the driving skills in NRW.
Afterwards I had a cup of tea with my neighbor/house owner, brought Andreas home with me to get him to look at my shower door which keeps falling out, found the piano teacher at the door- two days early ,but who's counting- opened the door, called for Alexander, ran for the phone, which was ringing, trying to direct Andreas to the bathroom the piano teacher and Alexander to the piano, while getting out an extra chair , open the window and make sure there was nothing disgusting lying around the great room. I usually try to check this before the piano teaches comes- but not two days before. Andreas did decide against fixing the shower door. He is going to install a new one- very good.
The rest of the day went smoothly, chatted with Michael, fixed dinner, chatted with Cheryl, finished my RR, went to bed too late. At the end everything came out fine today ,but it seemed like quite the trip to get to the end of the day. Wouldn't want to be bored!