It has to be in parts, sorry, though the parts are compact. But this is after all, four weeks of visits and kids and family and friends and even other stuff (though I forget exactly what "other stuff" is). But it's none of those things when we are there. It's fun in parts. Vacation parts. And we love each one of those parts.
Part 1 is a teeny bit of Orlando. We arrive, touch down, and move on. It's hard to take in all the changes at Lee and Crissy's - paint inside and outside, NEW POOL!! Outdoor kitchen!! This looks so great, but we have to wait for our return to fully enjoy it. What we could enjoy immediately was warm temperatures and wonderful sunshine. I even got a bit of sunburn. Oh, Florida!
Then off to Lynn Haven and the Ginns. Yes, they all live there, but these people are busy (!) and it seems seldom in the same place at the same time. Hunter at college, Hannah a junior in high school, classes for both of them, after-school job for Hannah, Michelle and Joey with work and boards and volunteer activities. I think I remember some of this, but teenagehood with parenthood is a world of its own and hard to comprehend when you are out of it. But the teenagers seem to handle it well. These parents too. Good for them!
There was the obligatory visit to the beach. My first visit to the beach in Panama City was August 1962. I remember sitting under the pier (the earlier incarnation) and reveling in the surf and sand. I still enjoy both. A ladybug on a piece of driftwood caught my eye. It's springtime.
Hannah's working at Cahall's taking orders and making sandwiches after school and on weekends and we went there for lunch one day. I ordered the Reuben since the owner told me it was wonderful. OK, he was right! But Hannah actually made it. Soooooo good!! Thanks, Hannah!
The guys put together a potting bench because there are so many pots on the deck that need attention now and again.
One night there was a beer and wine tasting event at the beach - oysters for us and Apalchicola beer followed by a dinner nearby. Fantastic! I have to say, we had more than a few amazing dinners.
We got to meet the newest member of the family, Andy. Andy the dog. But don't tell him he's a dog. He's people, just like Riley.
Looking back I have to say that was incredibly short, that visit. I'm thinking it's time to move closer to my people.
Quick, quick, drive to Atlanta!
A lot of this part of the visit was about mother, who's recently been moved into the "memory care" section of the assisted living facility where she's been happily settled for a couple of years. Werner and I went to visit her each day and were glad to meet the thoughtful, patient and kind caregivers, and have a look at the new surroundings. We're convinced she is in good hands.
But of course most of the time was spent with sisters and BIL's, for sure some of the best BIL's in the world. Werner reminded them of when he first met them, and Barry and Larry introduced themselves as the other -- really, guys! Even now, poor Werner gets a bit confused...
Here we are in all our glory:
There were lunches and dinners together, a mall walk or two, a bit of shopping, but of course the highlight was a family get-together on Saturday. Almost everyone got there, though we missed Gina and Tim+Carla. Steve is looking and sounding great after a more than challenging year. Mother was happy to give lots of hugs to everyone (more than once, since she forgets she's already done that) and there was time for kids to play and others to have conversations. Another great day!
Back to Florida - a stop at St. George.
But first a stop in Cairo and a short visit with Judy, former colleague and still a good friend. It was such fun to catch up after a long time and since Cairo is on the way to here and there, we'll for sure do this again!
It's a treat to visit Nancy wherever she is, but I have to say that St. George is my favorite place to visit her. We get the upstairs bedroom facing the ocean, hear the surf going to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, and waking up in the morning. It wasn't always warm.
The Sun did her thing and shone phenomenally, there were oysters and shrimp (!!!!!),
a side trip to Apalachicola, a bike ride along the island,
and a short visit with Sam and Tom. A lot packed into just three days.
And back to Orlando ...
We had fun with the kids. Dylan finished up a potholder for me - a reminder of the ones I did as a kid just about her age.
Hayden finished up another 3-D puzzle or two, this one the Parthenon which he'll see this summer.
There was build-your-own-pizza night.
Time around the pool.
Dylan helped Werner finish up a bird house for Julia. Great job, folks!
There was a chance again to see an old friend - Beth Boozer, staying in Cocoa for a few of the winter months. We last saw each other in England in 1998! I hope it isn't so long till the next time.
And a birthday!! Hayden is now 11 years old. Looks like he can't quite believe that hug from Meemaw. Really lady??
He got lots of presents including Kinder Überraschung from us (those surprise eggs that are illegal in the USofA) and was not a little disappointed when all the present opening was over. But is that a great smile or what?? More next year, Hayden, next year.
And ending up here with a favorite picture. It is great being around the kids (big and small) and I hope they have as many good memories of our visits as we do! See you soon!!
When a trip to the USofA is on the horizon, we start to be careful about buying food - since of course I hate to throw anything away. We're down to less than a week till the next trip and looking at what's in the fridge. I still - usually - want a meal to be a bit coordinated, so we try.
What's there? Fresh: a half pumpkin that needs to be roasted. Greens for salad of course. In the freezer, two small filets of fish. OK, we're on our way. Menu: fish, pumpkin risotto, salad.
Michelle gave us a little recipe book all about risotto some years back and it comes in handy.
But recipes are only suggestions in our house, so the basic got some tweaks. We added crispy bacon and fried sage leaves. Can't go wrong there.
Here's the roasted pumpkin, this time I don't know what it is. In German, it's a Muskatkurbis, a "nutmeg" pumpkin. I can't find the English equivalent. But "good pumpkin" would be fair.
We used the basic recipe - onion, garlic, wine, rice, stock; then added the pumpkin and cheese and sprinkled it with bacon bits and the fried crumbled sage leaves.
For a "What's there?" dinner, I think we did gourmet.
It snowed last night, big fat wet flakes, and since it was night, and cold, there was still snow this morning.
We'd been invited to Sunday Brunch with friends and after four hours (!) of eating and solving the world's problems, the sun came out and we walked home.
Crisp air.
Sky of blue.
Walking off the brunch was a good idea and we were not alone along the way. It's Bremen -- people love a Sunday walk here.
It took a bit more than an hour to make it back home and though there was no sun on the terrace, the sunflower made it sunny enough.
... it is gray, and often wet, seldom blue. Cold. Or moderately cold, I guess you could say 45° or so.
But we are in Bruges, the sign on the train says. The language is Flemish, a sort of blend of Dutch and Low German, so we can understand a lot that's written, no so much with the spoken.
However, that's not a problem since kids have four FOUR F O U R languages in school - Flemish, of course, at first, then in 3rd grade they add French, then in 5th grade they add English and then in 9th they add German. Everyone goes to school till they're 18. Most anyone who is under 50 can speak reasonably in each language. Amazing.
And it is an enchanting place, beautiful and rich in art and history.
Our (charming, of course) little hotel had a lovely view of the church across the street, established in the 13th c.,
and a stairway that was challenging. No accommodation here for those who can't climb steep narrow stairs! Frankly, ours at home are not as steep or narrow!
We arrived in rain and left in rain, though in between there were a few breaks in the clouds. So we took our umbrellas wherever we went. Sometimes, that didn't work out so well. Wind! Eeek!
We'd arrived mid-afternoon, checked in, took a look around (in the rain) and scoped out a place for dinner. No comment on that - it was a pizza place.
Belgium in general is known for chocolate, lace making, and beer, and we had our first of several different beers stretched over those four-plus days. Our first pub bragged on the menu of 100 different beers, but later we saw pubs with 500 different beers - all Belgian, many local. Yow. How long would it take to sample them all???
Names of beers ranged from traditional (Leffes) to cute (Delirium Tremens - please!) but even those "off brands" were sometimes from traditional breweries hundreds of years old.
Full Day One looked pretty good weather-wise, so off to the Belfry. You can't go higher in Bruges than the Belfry. How lucky we were - some blue sky shining through! We had to wait a bit to go in since they only allow 70 people at a time in the Belfry. I can imagine summer could mean a really, really long wait! For us it was only 30 minutes, then the ticket seller so politely asked: You know it is 366 steps? Yes, we do, thank you very much.
Tell the truth, I was a bit nervous, but - piece a' cake! I guess all those sessions at the gym pay off.
Fascinating! Stairwells,
clock hands from the back side,
bells - such big LOUD bells that rang while we were up there,
the biggest music box ever!!! ,
and then incredible views. An incomparable view of the city with a
bell concert. I couldn't tell what it was playing just then
(cacophony), but during our days there I recognized a short "Ode to Joy"
and "It's a long way to Tipperary." Yes, that's what it was. There were others I didn't know.
Frankly, going down is sometimes harder than climbing up. The steps at the very top are so narrow, I really had to take a deep breath before taking the first step.
But, really, not so bad. We made it down. So cool. I would do it again.
THIS IS DAY TWO
Walking along a quiet street we saw a guy come out of a house and so I asked about a place to have lunch. I have lost a lot of my inhibitions about asking strangers questions. Too old for that. And really, they are usually so nice and helpful! And he was - and this guy owned a restaurant even! And I have to say that was the same all over the town whenever we approached anyone with a request or a question.
But first back to the main square and a bus tour of the town. Never a bad idea. We got a good overview, a little more orientation, and time off our feet.
Agenda Day Two was St. John's Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal), then the Church of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwerkerk) and the art museum. It sort of worked: the Hospital was closed for renovations, the Church of Our Lady was half-closed. The museum was open. So it is in the off-season.
The outside of the hospital was grand,
and in the inner courtyard of the Hospital we found the herb garden and the blooming rosemary wondering what season this is.
The Church of Our Lady was only partially open, but enough to give us an impression of her beauty.
Her crowning glory is this statue of Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. We had to stand so far away, but her beauty still shines.
There are also the tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold (16th c) quite regally lying over their tombs.
Then, ART. The art museum houses many Flemish treasures. Jan van Eyck is the premier artist, but he is not alone.
Sadly, no pictures from the inside, but I have pictures in my head, the incredibly beautifully detailed 15th
century paintings of human a skinning, judgement given to a judge who took bribes. Living in
the middle ages was not for the faint of heart.
Building details are always interesting to me. Know what this is? We need one at our terrace door. It's a doorbell, totally mechanical. I've got Werner working on one for us even as I write.
And though I have said, YOU ARE DONE WITH HATS, WERNER!, he's not. Found a hat. In his defense, his old floppy whatever-you-call-it is quite ratty looking and a replacement was in order. When you find the right one, just do it!
Full Day Last - St. Anne's, the lace museum, the Jerusalem Chapel, the Church of the Holy Blood. Again, partially successful. St. Anne's was closed (!! what !!) and the Church of the Holy Blood (so called since there is some of the Holy Blood there, brought back from one of the crusades...) closed at 11 am. But we filled our time! As as we ambled along the street, we heard children singing. January 6, Three Kings Day, day for the Sternsinger - children who go around in costumes of the Three Kings and sing for alms. We stood there and the teacher asked Can we sing for you? Are you kidding?? Of course you can! (You'll notice the non-PC blackface, still sometimes done to represent one of the Three Kings.)
Next stop: The Jerusalem Chapel, begun about 1472 after a trip to Jerusalem since the owner wanted a copy of the Temple of Jerusalem to house his relics (a part of the True Cross and a part of the sepulcher). It became a place where the builder and many generations of the family were buried over the centuries.
Besides the relic of the cross,
and the tomb of Anslem and his wife,
there were TWO della Robbias, both in serious need of a cleaning, but still dazzling. I am in love.
And there was a painting on the wall near the coffee room of children sitting and doing bobbin lacework, a convenient segue to our next stop, the Lace Museum.
There are lace shops all over Bruges and much of it is bobbin lace.
The museum itself was too dark for picture taking - certain light damages the fragile fibers - but after that we went upstairs where the ladies were working. Centuries ago, the town was famous world-wide for lace and it was a way for orphans and women to earn some pennies. Of course, it's all hobby now, but some of the women were quite up there in years and had likely done it for pay as young women.
We're left with impressions of fascinating buildings and canals and bridges. I want to come back.
But next time, I want to do it when the railroads are not striking. Just sayin'.
That said, when we arrived much later than anticipated, our little cozy house was so welcoming. Always good to get home.
I have been - neglectful? - overlooking? - distracted? - lazy? I think a bit of all, but lazy ranks right up there.
So, let's do a December 2015 wrap-up although this is going to be first in the 2016 line up. I can fix the dates when I publish the story of my life based on my blog entries. ;-)
There was a meeting of the Cosmopolitan Ladies Club of Bremen (I'll have to say something about that later...), a December cookie exchange and pre-Christmas concert from a Swedish Lucia group. How delightful! The (women) singers were dressed in white, one with the traditional crown of (electric) candles on her head. For accompaniment, there was one guitarist who sang a couple of songs as well. It was not a sing-along - they were way too good for us. But it was special.
A good friend, now retired but a long-time serious photographer, has an exhibit at the Schönebecker Schloß. You never really know what to expect from friends who do things as amateurs. But what a treat! Wonderful quality prints of views of our north German moors and fens. Very well done.
A nice aside, a collection of manger scenes was on display.
December 22 was the last meeting of the year with the Platjenwerbe English group, and naturally our annual Christmas party. Nothing much changes here - lots of home-made goodies, to eat, crackers to pop, jokes to read, carols to sing. Nothing much changes here - it is always wonderful.
We somehow took no pictures while with Christoph and Mirja (plus her two daughters and a boyfriend) on the 22nd. But we have nice memories! A casual and easy dinner of Raclette and good conversation.
On the 24th, we had another wonderful meal (do folks think we need feeding???) of Beef Wellington with red cabbage and candied kumquats with dear Ursel and son Tille. And more stimulating conversation: American politics, German immigrant issues, science and teaching. My head was alight with issues!!!
Christmas day was quiet - late, late, late breakfast, quiet afternoon, tea with friends, Skype talks with the family and a restrained though special dinner of shrimp and grits, NOLA style. So good.
Good grief! It is not over! Off to Ohlendorf and more Christmas with René, Rima, Amina, additional family and friends. What fun. There was goose to eat, presents to open, games to play. Everything was fun.
A few days rest - though we tried to do some little tasks at home. A lovely cheese fondue evening with good friends. Big yum.
New Year's Eve our usual meet-up with Klaus, Johanna, Ullie and Ilsemarie was at the wonderful restaurant in Verden, Pades. Meine Güte!!! (OMG in English.) What a dinner! Seven courses of fishes and meats and though each was a small portion, still it was more than enough to fill you up. But amazingly tasty. I would be hard pressed to name a favorite.
The saying is "A new broom sweeps clean" and Nancy's mother was sure to have a new broom in the house for the new year. I don't do that, but I am happy to think that each year is a new beginning.
