tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56558512011-08-01T21:32:56.094+02:00This is our place to keep our friends and family up to date on our experiences over our two years in Germany.Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.comBlogger4481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1134153555095396202005-12-09T13:19:00.001+01:002011-03-25T00:12:15.895+01:00

Long-time readers may remember one of the very first excursions the kids and I made off-post after we arrived in Germany--the Luisenpark in downtown Mannheim. We decided that we needed to make a point of getting Fred to the park before the move, so late this past August we all set off together to explore it one more time. Even though several months have passed since that day, I wanted to post

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1127736588605270052005-10-04T22:39:00.000+02:002005-10-05T04:57:37.660+02:00

For our last adventure in Europe, we launched our own invasion of the beaches of Normandy. This had always been high on Fred's list of places to visit, so naturally we had to wait for him to be able to go along. Given that the trip was a good 6 weeks ago, and we're still in the throes of moving hell, I'm just going to offer a few of my favorite photos and some of the high points.We stopped at a

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1127308599325118122005-09-21T09:12:00.000+02:002005-09-21T15:16:41.190+02:00

I'm not done here, I promise. I never did post my pictures from our journey to Venice last spring, and I still have our Normandy trip to cover as well. I'm ready to start writing from the States though, and I don't want to mix my American stories up with my European ones. So I have started a new blog, which you can find here. See you there!

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1125041394769203472005-09-17T15:27:00.000+02:002005-09-18T00:34:14.016+02:00

Our flight back to Germany didn't leave until well past supper time, which gave us most of the day to just float about London, taking random photos. Before we checked out of the hotel, I snapped this shot of the rodents enjoying a final moment in our upscale neighborhood.We left our luggage with the concierge and headed out on foot. We stopped by Shepherd's Market, where I took a picture of this

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1125041271523348012005-09-01T21:45:00.000+02:002005-09-03T03:14:53.776+02:00

Generally speaking, I don't like books that feature talking animals. Charlotte's Web is the one exception I can think of that proves that rule. Both Mike and Annabelle, on the other hand, adore such books. Last Christmas I decided to get Mike a copy of Watership Down (a book I thoroughly loathed in tenth-grade English class), and he loved it. One of his main goals for our time in Europe was to

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1125228210095567952005-08-28T06:15:00.000+02:002005-08-28T13:23:30.103+02:00

Well, we did it. We up and moved to Kentucky.We left the house at about 6:00 Friday night and went to dinner with some friends a couple hours later. We meant to go eat almost immediately, but first we had to wait for the friend Mike invited to get done with football practice. Then, once we had taken the streetcar and hiked to our favorite schnitzel place for one last schnitzel, we found that THEY

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124955889832044172005-08-26T10:09:00.000+02:002005-08-26T12:58:29.783+02:00

For the past several months, I've been following the anonymous blog Chez Miscarriage (subtitle: Who Says Infertility Can't Be Funny?). It's the story of a DES daughter who fought a herculean battle against infertility and won, having recently brought home her newborn son, the product of gestational surrogacy. She has announced plans to take a maternity leave from her blog to give herself time to

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124905971244531272005-08-24T20:54:00.000+02:002005-08-24T20:57:13.803+02:00

It's no huge secret that the Europeans are a lot more open about the nuts and bolts of human sexuality than Americans. For example, you can buy a kids' edutainment CD-ROM Der kleine Professor erforscht den Körper ("The Little Professor Explores the Body") in which there is a segment on reproduction featuring sperm racing (Spermien-Rennen, in German). Don't believe me? Check it out:Just don't hold

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124739357248875702005-08-23T21:28:00.000+02:002005-08-23T21:49:26.746+02:00

Wednesday morning we decided that we did indeed want to take the London Walks tour of "Little Venice" in order to catch a glimpse of J.K. Rowling's house. The guide was surprised that that was what had brought us to her, but she was a very good sport. As we approached our target, she quietly said to me, "You'll be wanting to get your camera ready."Annabelle--who has blasted through the first 4

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124739441717496282005-08-23T08:36:00.000+02:002005-08-23T15:21:12.996+02:00

Today our little girl has reached the age of double digits. Yes, I'm talking about the big ONE-OH!Because we have summer babies and because we move every other summer, that means that every other year one or both of the kids winds up having their birthday amid packing boxes or in an empty house. This is Annabelle's empty-house birthday, as the remainder of our junk went away yesterday, leaving us

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124655173183309782005-08-21T22:05:00.000+02:002005-08-21T22:12:53.190+02:00

Moving back to the States is proving to be about as much fun as moving to Germany was. Everything was going along well enough until late last week, when our plans for shipping my minivan to Florida fell apart at the seams. I had already booked plane tickets for me and the kids to go down and pick up the car (and cat) when I got an email from the shipper telling me that the ship we were scheduled

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124101827123053702005-08-15T20:30:00.000+02:002005-08-15T20:45:08.473+02:00

Rather than doing it on our own, we opted to take a London Walks tour of Stonehenge that also happened to include the town of Salisbury and its magnificent cathedral. I have a hard time signing up for organized tours for the same reason I can't buy handicrafts made by somebody else: I know I'm capable of doing it myself--probably for less money--and I also know that doing it myself is half the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1124050600714348782005-08-14T22:14:00.000+02:002005-08-14T22:16:40.723+02:00

Actually, we got back at about 2:30 this morning, but this is the first time I've had the energy to post anything. We had a great time, but we cut it short by a day when we found out yesterday morning that this is the #1 busiest travel weekend of the year for the French. Who knew? We figured that we would have a tough time finding a room for the night, so when we got done admiring St. Michel at

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1123744485557046432005-08-11T09:13:00.000+02:002005-08-11T09:14:45.566+02:00

I've still got well over a hundred photos to go through for our London trip, but we're taking off for 4 days in France today. You know what THAT means, don't you? Gulp! More photos!! Please be patient with me.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1123518353334992562005-08-08T19:35:00.000+02:002005-08-08T19:34:48.006+02:00

We began our first full day in London with a nice walk to Harrods. I swear, it was like returning to the mothership. Not only is everything in the store (right down to the amazing Egyptian escalator--who even knew the Egyptians HAD escalators?!) just wonderful, but the staff is also so friendly. Come on, one look at us with our comfy shoes and rain jackets and fanny packs, and any idiot can tell

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1123518371908902902005-08-08T18:19:00.000+02:002005-08-08T18:26:11.916+02:00

So I'm sitting here at my computer, peacefully tweaking my London pictures and getting ready to add to my travel story, when an email pops up in my inbox. Apparently, they have named a winner in the Fire Karl Rove Slogan Contest. I clicked on the link and practically spat a mouthful of really good wine all over my keyboard. Once I stopped laughing and choking, I knew I had to share the winner

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1123431319169296482005-08-07T17:18:00.000+02:002005-08-07T18:15:20.823+02:00

OK, I'll admit it. If we hadn't already paid for the plane tickets and the hotel room and the Lion King tickets, I would have been tempted to skip London this time around. But we did go, and it felt pleasingly defiant to not let the terrorists ruin our vacation.We chose to journey into London from Stansted Airport by the Stansted Express. They sold the roundtrip rail tickets on the plane shortly

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1123328648816528992005-08-06T13:40:00.000+02:002005-08-06T13:44:09.996+02:00

London was amazing--a little tense given the recent events, but amazing even so. I'm glad we went, and I'm thrilled to be home. The rodents had an especially good time:I'll be working hard on my million and one pictures this weekend and hope to get the best uploaded soon!

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1122753247493559472005-07-30T21:50:00.000+02:002005-07-30T21:54:07.503+02:00

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for our 5-day vacation in London. If anybody needs me, we'll be at the Holiday Inn Mayfair.Our tentative plan calls for visiting Stonehenge and Salisbury on Tuesday and the "real" Watership Down on Thursday. Other than that, we will be exploring the city. Oh, and we have tickets to see Lion King Wednesday night. We'll be back home late, late, late on Friday.The

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1122544323095199812005-07-28T11:28:00.000+02:002005-07-28T11:52:03.103+02:00

When I was in elementary school, my grandmother gave me a full-length wall mirror. Everywhere I have gone since then, that mirror has gone, too. When we got to Germany 2 years ago, Fred hung the mirror on the side of our closet, which is clearly visible as you approach our bedroom from the hall.The mirror left with the rest of the household goods way back in June, but every time I climb the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1121972213830128622005-07-21T20:49:00.000+02:002005-07-21T20:56:53.836+02:00

Yes, it's true. Our bouncing baby boy became a teenager today. He's still pretty bouncy, but his toys are a lot more expensive than they used to be. Here's a picture of us from our younger days:Happy birthday, Mike!

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1121881957592032002005-07-20T19:38:00.000+02:002005-07-20T19:52:37.603+02:00

Shameless advertising coming up here!Back when the latest Star Wars flick was in the theaters, our PX had a display of special M&M candies that were part of a Star Wars promotion. My friend Amy discovered that the dark chocolate M&Ms were especially tasty, and once she introduced them to me, I also went to the Dark Side.It was a sad day in Mannheim when all the dark chocolate M&Ms were gone, so

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1121841468561553092005-07-20T14:00:00.000+02:002005-07-20T14:01:12.810+02:00

When we lived on the east coast, it wasn't uncommon for our kids to have birthday celebrations that stretched over a period of several weeks. First, they would have a home celebration, which would usually be followed by small parties at their grandparents' houses. Fred's homecoming has been a lot like that, a veritable festival in honor of Fred. A Fredstival. The Season of Fredstivus began with

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1121678319006203562005-07-18T11:04:00.000+02:002005-07-18T11:18:39.013+02:00

. . . but it sure is a welcome change from khaki:Fred went back to "work" this morning. I say "work," because he doesn't have an office or even a job really. He does have some paperwork to finish up from Iraq, so I guess he'll do that for the next couple of weeks. Then he'll go back on leave for most of August, which is when we will do our last round of traveling.I have got loads to catch up on

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1121028109552378582005-07-10T22:40:00.000+02:002005-07-10T22:41:49.633+02:00

I am a lousy liar. Always have been, probably always will be. So I'm especially proud of what the kids and I were able to pull off this morning.Back when Fred and I agreed that we would re-do his promotion ceremony here in Germany once he redeployed, I got the brilliant idea of asking his parents to come over as a special surprise. As it turns out, they needed very little coaxing. In fact, the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120676649823890222005-07-06T21:01:00.000+02:002005-07-06T21:04:09.830+02:00

'Nuff said.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120579327589043322005-07-05T17:44:00.000+02:002005-07-05T18:02:58.353+02:00

Sometimes I thought this day would never come, but we are finally counting down in hours. One more wakeup, and this chapter in our lives is over.You gotta love modern technology. One of the attorneys Fred worked with this past year just sent me a picture taken 2 hours ago of him at the airport waiting for his ride home:She also sent a very nice letter with the subject line "Papa Bear heads home."

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120469616767703332005-07-04T10:38:00.000+02:002005-07-04T11:33:36.776+02:00

Sometimes I think my neighbors should have to pay admission for the privilege of watching the freakshow that is my life. It dawned on me yesterday that one of the things I meant to do before Fred came home was learn to ride my unicycle. (I also meant to lose 5 pounds, but that ain't happenin' by Wednesday.) Mike got bored with walking up and down beside me, holding my hand, so I fashioned my own

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120406119625665062005-07-03T17:38:00.000+02:002005-07-03T17:56:27.326+02:00

I was surfing around auf Deutsch yesterday, trying to find pictures and news from the Live 8 concert in Berlin, and I came across the following headline on Yahoo.de: "X-Faktor bedroht schottische Herzen" (X-factor threatens Scottish hearts). Normally, this isn't the kind of article I would click on, but I have to admit, the accompanying photo caught my eye:I searched for and found the complete

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120155830499834442005-06-30T20:23:00.000+02:002005-06-30T20:41:21.236+02:00

A couple of months ago, I wrote an email to Fred about watching the finale of the most recent season of Survivor with the kids. That show was one of our guilty pleasures as a family before he deployed, and the kids and I kept up the tradition every Friday night (seen a day later on AFN) even though it wasn't as much fun without Fred. Anyway, Fred casually wrote back something like, "One of the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120081427474382002005-06-29T23:34:00.000+02:002005-06-29T23:43:47.483+02:00

When I was a kid, I liked to try and hold my breath any time we drove over bridges or through tunnels. I remember how it felt to be within sight of the end, feeling as though my lungs might just explode and psychically willing my parents to please-please-please drive faster. In fact, when I became the grownup and passed along this little game to my own kids, I found that I had to abstain or risk

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1120071001548811772005-06-29T20:40:00.000+02:002005-06-29T20:50:01.556+02:00

I can always count on my sister for a good laugh. Just a little while ago, she sent me the following email:MEEEEE! (We less computer-savvy people have to take a picture of thescreen with our cell phone.)along with her South Park persona:The kids are very impressed. "That looks just like Ninny!" they exclaimed, because yes, that's what they call her.I wrote back to say I didn't know she had a

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119984748366940142005-06-28T20:45:00.000+02:002005-06-28T20:56:20.030+02:00

Have you ever wondered what we would look like if we lived in South Park? About like this, I suppose:I made my South Park family portrait at this really cool website that I found courtesy of Bookhart and Karla.Mike thinks this should be our Christmas photo this year.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119628195339240262005-06-24T17:34:00.000+02:002005-06-24T17:49:55.363+02:00

Grrr . . . it just shouldn't be this hard to water the stupid grass! I made it through last summer with a hose that was poorly attached to our back yard faucet, but this year I wanted to do better. I actually had 2 hoses--the poorly attached one and one that wouldn't attach at all. I took the one that wouldn't work at all to Self Help (where you get all the stuff you need for maintaining your

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119447914489776262005-06-22T15:42:00.000+02:002005-06-22T15:45:14.496+02:00

Well, 11 crates of crap later, it's all over. Unless, of course, you count the part of the festivities where you THOUGHT you were a reasonably clean person living in a reasonably clean house and then all your furniture disappeared and you could SEE the big scary dustbunnies. That part of the fun is just beginning. Back, bunnies! Back!

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119436551750523742005-06-22T00:23:00.000+02:002005-06-22T12:38:08.586+02:00

I moved a fair bit as a kid, and I've kept up the habit as an adult. Fred and I have moved 7 times in 15 years, and we have gotten pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. Moving just gives us so many opportunities to strut our obsessive-compulsive stuff. We sort, discard, label, and organize, like one well-oiled Type-A moving machine.It wasn't always like this though. The very first time we

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119269279620491452005-06-20T14:01:00.000+02:002005-06-20T14:07:59.650+02:00

I've had 3 packers working hard since 8:30 this morning. Mike's room is empty; Annabelle's room is almost empty. My living room looks like this:And my yard looks like this:I feel like I should be helping, but really there's nothing for me to do. It's all on autopilot. So I've been playing around on the computer all day, but I keep having to move. I was on the couch, but they took my couch. I was

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119209427057540412005-06-19T21:20:00.000+02:002005-06-19T21:30:27.066+02:00

Ever since she started writing poems a couple weeks ago, Annabelle has been unstoppable. She has churned out poems about books, poems about Neopets, poems about the circus and about moving. Last night she wrote one about war.Unbiased reader that I am, I thought it was outstanding and suggested she should put it on her blog. She was hesitant though, because "what would Republicans think?" I'm not

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1119043438944066172005-06-17T23:06:00.000+02:002005-06-17T23:34:16.700+02:00

Earlier this evening, Mike came dashing in saying some kid had stolen his bike from the carport and was riding it around behind our house. I ran out to do my cranky old lady routine: "Hey, you kid! Off that bike!" but he was gone. I was pissed, so I grabbed the keys to the car and drove up to the entrance to the neighborhood, hoping to cut off their escape. We saw about 6 kids riding bikes on one

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1118917103000103442005-06-16T12:07:00.000+02:002005-06-16T15:00:53.213+02:00

In honor of our anniversary (second consecutive one spent apart thanks to this deployment), here are a couple wedding photos. First, do you know how HEAVY all those roses can be? Verrrrry heavy:Second, SMOOOOOOOOOOCH:I'm not feeling very creative this year, but last year I made a slideshow for Fred that I thought turned out rather nice.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1118773285137487712005-06-14T20:09:00.000+02:002005-06-14T20:22:29.950+02:00

I realize that photos of my dishwasher and coin purse will be really hard to top, but I just have to try. The kids and I got an email from Fred a little while ago:My Afghanistan trip is not going to happen. I will be on the flight from Kuwait to Germany on 6 July. Adjust the counter, Daddy is coming home…Love ya/LAMY,Me/DadI have adjusted the counter accordingly.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1118738041267934462005-06-14T09:47:00.000+02:002005-06-14T10:42:27.620+02:00

I just haven't had many blog-worthy events happening lately. I suppose I could whine incessantly about the move, but how boring would that be? Sure, I could vent about the customs inspectors who blew off our appointment yesterday. Or I could confess that my method is moving from methodical sorting and purging to more of a maniacal "pack it all, we'll figure it out in Kentucky" approach. Ho hum.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1118251063008719242005-06-08T19:11:00.000+02:002005-06-08T23:42:59.240+02:00

SOMEBODY left this banana peel on my coffee table this afternoon:I do not know which somebody it was, but I know this much is true: That is not my banana peel. And as it is not MY banana peel, I am not going to pick it up. No matter how much it pains me, no matter how simple it would be to just grab it on my next pass through the living room and toss it into the trash, I am not going to do it.WHY

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1117111479902760732005-06-08T00:30:00.000+02:002005-06-08T00:40:46.066+02:00

I'm sure I've mentioned the kids' Zirkusschule here before, but I don't think I've said much about it. Basically, Mike and Annabelle have been part of Zirkus Trolori, a kids' circus group that practices every Friday afternoon at an Asylbewerberheim (asylum home) down in an industrial sector of Mannheim. The circus school is financed by the city of Mannheim as a resource for the children of the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1118088317068148252005-06-06T21:57:00.000+02:002005-06-06T22:05:17.076+02:00

I was hoping that maybe we would know today whether or not Fred will be able to make the July 6 flight home, but alas, we don't. It's very possible though that we have entered our final month of this deployment. If not today, then next Sunday, one month from the July 12 flight. I'm too beat tonight to write more, but I didn't want to let the potential occasion pass by without any comment. :::

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1117703889971097662005-06-02T10:47:00.000+02:002005-06-02T11:18:09.976+02:00

Our house has become a center for poetry writing over the past week. It all started last Thursday when one of the TDS attorneys in Iraq posted a lizard-poetry-writing challenge on his blog. Apparently, his office is overrun with lizards, and he and his daughter have been writing lizard poems back and forth. He challenged his readers to submit poems of their own and even offered up photos of his

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1117432301730483102005-05-30T16:45:00.000+02:002005-05-30T17:15:03.696+02:00

Fred pointed out the other day that this is the second Memorial Day weekend in a row that he has spent in Kuwait. We need to start some less sucky holiday traditions, don'tcha think? As I said in my last post, the kids and I have spent this weekend trying to get organized for the move, so this weekend is in no danger of going down in history as the Best Memorial Day Weekend Ever. Even if it had

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1117398200112218622005-05-29T22:19:00.000+02:002005-05-29T22:23:20.166+02:00

Well, I wound up canceling our trip to Belgium and Holland. It stings to realize that I can't do it all, but I just can't. It hit me when I actually laid it out on a calendar that I have exactly 3 weeks to get this place ready for the movers, and I was planning on spending the better part of a third of that time traveling. Something had to give, and in this case it was the trip.My friend Kathleen

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1117138787697284182005-05-26T21:23:00.000+02:002005-05-26T22:19:47.770+02:00

I just haven't been able to summon up the resources to blog for the past few days. For one thing, I have all my pictures from our trip to Garmisch, Venice, and Switzerland last month that STILL need fixing and posting. For another, I'm pretty overwhelmed with everything that is involved in making this move happen in LESS THAN A MONTH ALL BY MYSELF. And now I'm trying to get us ready to go on

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1116707703889250492005-05-21T22:21:00.000+02:002005-05-21T22:35:03.896+02:00

Baby steps, baby steps! I've spent the better part of this rainy Saturday working on my computer. My D drive is still a disaster, but my C drive can breathe again.I started working on my Venice photos but quickly got overwhelmed. It's almost impossible to take a picture in Venice that isn't beautiful or interesting, so I've got quite a stack (digitally speaking, of course) to sort through. I

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114637602479983062005-05-20T23:32:00.000+02:002005-05-20T23:33:44.173+02:00

Gus is the Cat at the Theatre Door.His name, as I ought to have told you before,Is really Asparagus. That's such a fussTo pronounce, that we usually call him just Gus.Ever since we made our trip to Düsseldorf to see Cats, Annabelle has been obsessed with the show. I will often hear her sitting at the computer in the kitchen, singing away as she tends to her Neopets. I bought her the DVD of the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1116609729103599262005-05-20T19:19:00.000+02:002005-05-20T19:22:09.110+02:00

I'm swimming as fast as I can, but the current of Stuff To Do threatens to overtake me at any minute. I've spent a lot of time this week working on details for our upcoming move, and I have also started going to the gym again. I know I still need to blog our most recent travels (and the kids' circus performance at the street fest last weekend!), but I can't do any of that until I clean up the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1116499488622652562005-05-19T12:39:00.000+02:002005-05-19T15:01:32.176+02:00

Wow, it's been a year. A whole year, if you can believe that. One year ago today, we left Fred up at Rhein-Main AFB and returned home to continue life as usual, minus one.I feel like I should have some wise words to offer to mark the occasion, but I'm stumped. Maybe I would be wiser if this were the end, but it's not. According to my calendar, we have either 47 or 53 days left, depending on

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1116442980819288232005-05-18T22:16:00.000+02:002005-05-18T22:31:15.713+02:00

When my friend Sandra was visiting, I was horrified one day to discover an enormous stinging insect had taken up residence in my shower. Seriously, this sucker was a good 2 inches long. You could see the muscles rippling in its legs. So naturally, I hollered for Sandra, who gallantly raced up the stairs and sent my unwelcome invader to that big beehive in the sky. (Reason #382 why I suck at being

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1116191111633309082005-05-15T22:57:00.000+02:002005-05-15T23:05:11.653+02:00

It's not enough that my house is a disaster. I have a virtual mess to deal with as well: tons of picture to go through from our Venice trip; a hard drive that is almost totally full; 13 years worth of videotape to transfer to DVD. Mike said that I looked like an absolute nerd tonight, sitting here in the dark surrounded by my computer, phone, 2 DVD burners, a digital still camera, and a digital

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1116114182017711562005-05-15T01:42:00.000+02:002005-05-15T01:43:02.026+02:00

I have been meaning to go to bed in 15 minutes for at least the past 2 hours. I got caught up playing around with some video clips though, and here I am--still glued to the computer at almost 2:00 a.m.One of the tapes I've been messing with is of Fred's Baghdad promotion. I've cut it down to the most essential 2 minutes, which I have uploaded here. The video quality falls apart a couple of times,

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1115833207570535662005-05-11T19:35:00.000+02:002005-05-11T19:40:07.586+02:00

I cooked supper tonight. I don't do that very often anymore. About halfway through the deployment, I discovered that our local pizza joint DELIVERS, and somehow that set a tone for the past few months.Tonight though, I went all out: Salmon marinated in Soy Vay's Island Teriyaki and cooked on the good ol' George Foreman, a cooker full of hot steamed jasmine rice, peas for the kids and a kilo of

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1115756129917183882005-05-10T22:12:00.000+02:002005-05-10T22:15:29.923+02:00

. . . puts presidential stuff on her cat:

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1115748937397065612005-05-10T19:17:00.000+02:002005-05-10T20:15:37.910+02:00

My house is a disaster. I am up to my eyeballs in things I need to take care of before I singlehandedly ship all of our worldly possessions to Kentucky in just over a month. And I have hundreds of pictures from our most recent trip that need to get weeded out, edited, and posted. So instead of doing any of the above, I am sitting here putting together a few unrelated items that have brought me

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1115505769254013052005-05-07T23:56:00.000+02:002005-05-08T00:44:39.030+02:00

Well, tonight was the JAG prom that I told you about back in March. I went back and forth as to whether or not I would go at all, but I did wind up going and I had a great time.I went with my friends Amy and Phil, but I also took a rodent date of my own. The kids insisted that I allow Pux to escort me, as he is always dressed for a black-tie occasion. I added my rhinestone JAG pin to his top hat

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1115410927237268862005-05-06T22:09:00.000+02:002005-05-06T22:22:07.510+02:00

We're home! (Did you miss me?)Sandra, Theresa, and Heath are on their way to Holland for the weekend, but the kids and I are planning a quiet weekend at home. I'm sure I'll be spending the bulk of it working with my 100+ photos, getting them ready to upload.Our big news from the trip is that there is a new rodent in the family. When we stopped at Neuschwanstein, Ratzo and Rizzo adopted baby

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114938083066168792005-05-01T10:52:00.000+02:002005-05-01T11:01:23.066+02:00

Yep, Fred will be 44 years old tomorrow. Happy birthday, sweetie! Come on, everybody--don't be shy. Fill up the comments with birthday greetings for the Fredster!

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114904732098193742005-04-30T23:32:00.000+02:002005-05-01T01:45:32.100+02:00

Probably not:Pellet is horribly excited at the prospect of being the first rodent gondolier in the Venetian canals. Ratzo and Rizzo are going along for the romance and because Pellet has promised them discount tickets on his boat.Our human companions for this trip are Sandra (a friend of Fred's from law school), her son Heath, and her friend Theresa. They arrived Thursday morning, and we've been

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114633638457774292005-04-27T21:15:00.000+02:002005-04-27T23:16:35.060+02:00

I occasionally get hits on my blog from somebody who is obviously seeking information. A Google search for "Spangdahlem bazaar", for example, or a Yahoo search for the recipe for "Klondike jello" (whatever that is). They got linked to my blog because I mentioned buying knives at the Spangdahlem bazaar or I posted a recipe and my son went to the Boy Scouts' Klondike Campout and I mentioned the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114375061840257202005-04-24T22:24:00.000+02:002005-04-24T22:37:41.843+02:00

Well, it's officially official now. Fred is a colonel, with eagles on his shoulders. Today was the first of his 2 promotion ceremonies, this one taking place at Camp Victory in Baghdad with the second one happening here in Germany this summer. I had hoped to have pictures to post, but Fred's computer is acting cranky this evening and won't let him get on. I do have this one though that he sent

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114291774502948322005-04-23T23:22:00.000+02:002005-04-23T23:29:34.503+02:00

The Cookie Monster might have turned over a new leaf, but Fred and the members of one of his offices in Iraq look mighty happy with the incredibly large gift of cookies they received from a Girl Scout troop in the U.S.:Fred says, "We got so many cookies we can’t possibly eat them all, we are sharing them with our many clients."

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114202777840115292005-04-22T22:22:00.000+02:002005-04-22T22:46:17.843+02:00

In order to make room for our massive pottery haul, I prepped the van by removing the middle 2 seats. I didn't want their metal feet to damage the hardwood floors that we have throughout most of the house, so I stuck them in the kitchen, which is tiled.We're back from pottery shopping now, and the van has been unloaded. I should put the seats back in, but I'm kind of enjoying having them in the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1114159395873930102005-04-22T10:35:00.000+02:002005-04-22T10:43:15.873+02:00

. . . can you buy in 7 hours? About this much:I'm not even sure how much we spent. I do know that my credit card quit working shortly after noon, and we had to go to Jenny's. I guess I need to add that to my list of stuff to do today: "Call USAA and convince them that my Master Card hasn't been stolen by pottery-buying hooligans."We have some major unpacking to do. I hope to start uploading

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1113925293608342432005-04-19T17:29:00.000+02:002005-04-19T17:41:33.606+02:00

Jenny and the kids and I are off tomorrow for another whirlwind trip. Destination this time: Bolesławiec, Poland. Purpose: to shop until we drop or the van fills up, whichever comes first.We're trying a new hotel this time, the Hotel Protea. I have reserved a room for the 4 of us for $100 including breakfast. That's where we'll be tomorrow night if anybody needs us.Click here to re-live the glory

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1113809631880588592005-04-18T11:20:00.000+02:002005-04-19T00:17:33.160+02:00

Friday--The KeukenhofFriday morning we set off for the Keukenhof and enjoyed a day of wandering through the beautiful gardens. The weather was cool and cloudy, but the rain that had been forecast was absent. I figure if each picture is worth a thousand words, I can be brief in describing a few of my favorites.Here are some closeups I took throughout the park: The kids posed with the rodents (

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1113506727246037442005-04-14T21:20:00.000+02:002005-04-14T21:25:27.246+02:00

Well, we made it! Jenny is so jet-lagged she doesn't know whether to scratch her watch or wind her butt, but we're having a marvelous time. Jenny figures that she has had about 1 hour of sleep in the past 30 hours.We just got back from an Argentine steakhouse that Fred and I discovered back when we were dating. Mmm . . . good sangria and awesome ribs! Jenny stole cheese from the salad bar on our

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1113423999942606272005-04-13T22:04:00.000+02:002005-04-13T22:26:39.943+02:00

Well, our 3 week vacation at home is almost officially over, and it's time to get back to business: traveling. My sister arrives from Florida tomorrow morning, and the kids and I, along with our friends Amy and Rebecca, are going to grab her at the Frankfurt airport and head immediately for Holland.We'll be staying in the Holiday Inn in Leiden, in case anybody needs to reach us. Current plan is

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1113309667016640792005-04-12T14:38:00.000+02:002005-04-12T14:41:07.016+02:00

It's asparagus time! Or, more precisely, Spargel Zeit. I scored my first Spargel of the season yesterday at the German grocery and then bought a little more at the veggie stand across the field from my house. One can never have too much Spargel! Please pass the Hollandaise sauce . . .

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1113066310137358362005-04-09T19:01:00.000+02:002005-04-09T19:05:10.136+02:00

Item #764: Give a cat an enema. This is the story of a poor kitty named Fred who needed an enema and his poor owner who had to give it to him. It is illustrated with cute little pictures like this:It had me laughing out loud.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112994118291209202005-04-08T22:52:00.000+02:002005-04-08T23:01:58.293+02:00

It has been a busy few days here, some good, some bad. On a good day, I go to the movies with my friend Sibylle and we giggle like schoolgirls over how hot Til Schweiger is. On a bad day, I wreck my car a little bit and cry like an idiot for the 2 hours immediately following the accident and then off and on for most of that night. I would blog all the details of both, but last night was the

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112730187825743612005-04-05T21:30:00.000+02:002005-04-05T21:43:07.830+02:00

When I was in the 8th grade, my class spent an hour on 2 consecutive days sitting in the dark of the school library and watching the movie To Kill A Mockingbird. I was so impressed with the film that I went home on that second afternoon and pulled my parents' paperback copy off the shelf and began to read. I read that copy to death over the years, and when I read it for the last time--probably 10

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112562486479907022005-04-03T23:00:00.000+02:002005-04-03T23:13:46.823+02:00

My big souvenir of this deployment has been the development of a benign essential tremor. That's medical talk for, "Yup, you shake, but we can't figure out why, and we don't think it'll kill you."Sometime last summer, I noticed that my right hand quivered oddly if I held it in just the right position over the computer mouse. I didn't think much more of it, even when my mom came to visit in August

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112394121714785022005-04-02T00:15:00.000+02:002005-04-02T00:22:01.716+02:00

April Fool's Day ended 15 minutes ago, right about the time that Annabelle reminded me that I had forgotten to send my trick to Fred. I started planning my gag shortly after he deployed last May: I would mail him a 10-pound bag of playground sand and a small assortment of sandbox toys. Get it? Sending sand to the desert? What a riot am I. Oh, well, you have to admit that it would have been a heck

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112289555761855462005-03-31T19:30:00.000+02:002005-03-31T20:02:39.950+02:00

You just never know who you're going to stumble across out here in the cyberhood, do you? I woke up this morning to find the following comment had been left on my blog:I don't know who you think you're fooling, but none of these gowns look *anything* like your prom dress. Hoop-skirt girl. JasI nearly fell off the couch when I read that! Jas? As in Jason, my prom date from 1983? THAT one? I must

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112208718354605602005-03-30T20:30:00.000+02:002005-03-30T20:51:58.356+02:00

I was actually happy today to see the rain coming down, because it gave me an opportunity to take the world's coolest boots out on their maiden voyage. When I bought the boots in Copenhagen, I realized at the last minute that they came with a matching raincoat. I couldn't decide at the time whether I liked it or not, but I bought it anyway because I didn't want to face kicking myself somewhere

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1112015712718185952005-03-28T14:55:00.000+02:002005-03-28T15:15:12.720+02:00

First thing every morning, I get online to check my email, catch up on my web board, and see if anything new has been posted to my favorite blogs. It's my quiet time alone, and I cherish it.For some reason, Mike got up earlier than usual the other day and decided to visit with me while I went through my online routine. He has huge plans for our downstairs video game room, and he wanted to tell me

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111915553607035492005-03-27T11:23:00.000+02:002005-03-27T11:25:53.606+02:00

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111875562386769852005-03-26T22:54:00.000+01:002005-03-26T23:19:22.390+01:00

Hmmm . . . there's a serious chance I could wind up in a 12-step program before this dress-shopping thing is finished. I ordered 3 dresses today, none of which are any of the dresses I showed you yesterday, and one of which I will admit up front that I have absolutely no intention of either (1) wearing to the dance or (2) sending back to the store. Now this doesn't mean I'm turning my back on

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111857372783249412005-03-26T17:43:00.000+01:002005-03-26T18:16:12.786+01:00

I'm probably jinxing it by saying this, so if central Germany wakes up tomorrow to a blanket of snow, everybody can just blame me. But I think that spring is really here, and my flowers seem to think so, too. I've had crocuses popping up throughout my yard for the past several weeks, but now my hyacinths are starting to bloom, as are some of my tulips and daffodils. I went outside this afternoon

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111759462699723102005-03-25T14:59:00.000+01:002005-03-25T15:04:22.703+01:00

The JAG prom is coming up in early May. I'm still not 100% certain that I'm going, but I figure it can't hurt to look at dresses. Since it's so much more fun to shop with your friends than to shop alone, I've assembled a few likely candidates here for you to examine.Dress A, an embroidered georgette dance dress, comes to us from Talbots.com, which offers this description: "A layer of georgette,

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111699688421141962005-03-24T22:22:00.000+01:002005-03-24T22:28:08.420+01:00

It's official. We will be moving to Ft. Knox, Kentucky, sometime this August.It's truly remarkable, the progress I've made since Christmas, which was the first time anybody ever said Ft. Knox to me. I can say it and type it without crying, for one thing.Before you tell me that Kentucky is beautiful and that the people are so nice, let me assure you that my beef has very little to do with Ft. Knox

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111620109739820232005-03-23T23:50:00.000+01:002005-03-24T00:21:49.746+01:00

I first saw the musical Cats in the spring of 1983 when I went with my high school drama club to New York City. I saw it again in London in 1987 and dragged Fred to it when we went to London in August, 1989. Last night made the fourth time, when the kids and I (and, of course, a few rodents) traveled to Düsseldorf to see it auf Deutsch. We're back home in Mannheim tonight, and our travels are

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111333123546345032005-03-20T22:25:00.000+01:002005-03-20T22:20:54.820+01:00

As part of our ongoing quest to kill time while seeing as much of Europe as possible, the kids and I journeyed north last week to Denmark. We have friends from Texas who moved to Copenhagen the same time we moved here, and for almost 2 years now we have been talking about getting together. I'm glad we finally did, because it was the most relaxing, laid back trip we've done thus far.The kids all

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111273086990892932005-03-19T23:38:00.000+01:002005-03-20T02:37:58.996+01:00

You know how some songs bore their way through your eardrums and eat slowly away at your brain? Songs such as the theme from The Brady Bunch or the thinking music from Jeopardy? These songs are called "ear worms," a term that is translated literally from the German word Ohrwurm. It seems somehow fitting then that the newest ear worm should be sweeping through the Vaterland, not unlike an aural

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111179330260720272005-03-18T21:51:00.000+01:002005-03-18T21:55:30.260+01:00

Traveling in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan can be tiring sometimes. I have been known to sleep in some pretty austere surroundings. I have napped in cars, on the ground, in hangars, and in office chairs. When presented such fabulous accommodations, especially in a combat zone, how could I not take advantage of the over-stuffed chairs and couch, INTERNET access, and TV to catch a nap before

Fredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208757794370258958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1111165019586390102005-03-18T17:38:00.000+01:002005-03-18T17:56:59.590+01:00

We are having some unbelievably gorgeous weather here in Mannheim. Neighbors are working in their yards, and Mike and Annabelle have spent all afternoon playing outside with their friends. Yes, it is indeed a beautiful day in the neighborhood.I have been enjoying the peace and quiet afforded by having the kids out from under foot and have spent the afternoon tweaking my Denmark (and Sweden!)

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1110569127002663582005-03-11T20:19:00.000+01:002005-03-11T20:25:27.003+01:00

You know how it is the night before a trip. You pack your bags. You gather your tickets, passports, and other important papers. You make little viking costumes for your rodents. Or wait--maybe we're the only ones who do that.The rodents are ready for Denmark:Let the pillaging and plundering begin--on a very small scale, of course.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1110533717336872652005-03-11T10:25:00.000+01:002005-03-11T10:35:17.340+01:00

We were blessed with some truly fine weather for our third and final day in Rome. Since our plane wouldn't be leaving until late that night, we left our bags at the front desk of the hotel and went out for one last day of sightseeing.We went to the tobacco shop around the corner, and I bought day-passes for us to use the bus and metro system so that we could cover lots of territory with minimal

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1110463695469598132005-03-10T15:06:00.000+01:002005-03-10T15:08:15.473+01:00

We set off from our hotel Monday morning and walked to the Termini railway station to catch our trains to Naples and then to Pompeii. As we crossed through the Piazza della Repubblica, we noticed a lot of activity. There were even more police than usual, for one thing, plus the front of the church there was covered with floral arrangements. I asked an Italian woman what was going on, but I

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1110396756836357392005-03-09T21:35:00.000+01:002005-03-09T21:55:25.993+01:00

Mike made up the title for our Rome trip report, and I promised him that I would use it. You'll see why later.We set off for Rome on Saturday. The drive to the airport in Hahn usually takes about an hour and a half, but I left with plenty of time to spare because we had gotten a fair amount of snow that morning. I was glad I had the extra time, as the parking lot at the airport was a snowy mess,

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1110330665003890202005-03-09T02:08:00.000+01:002005-03-09T02:11:05.006+01:00

We're home. We're beat. We're going to bed. Oh, and by the way, WE HAD A FANTASTIC TIME! Details and 100+ photos to follow, maybe even later today.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1110027067275603302005-03-05T13:49:00.000+01:002005-03-05T13:51:07.276+01:00

I'm out the door to the airport in 10 minutes. We'll be back from Rome way late on Tuesday night.Try not to miss me too much! Here's an idea--write some comments or sign the guestbook, so I'll have something to look forward to when we get back.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1109981544179592782005-03-05T01:09:00.000+01:002005-03-05T01:12:24.180+01:00

My invisible friend Deana has rearranged her spices into a thing of beauty:I am insanely jealous. Maybe tomorrow I will take a picture of MY spices, and you will see why.

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1109974459841861612005-03-04T23:05:00.000+01:002005-03-04T23:14:19.846+01:00

Several months ago, Annabelle fell under the sway of American Girl--the books, the magazine, the bazillion dollar dolls. She quotes American Girl like the newly converted quote Scripture: "Well, American Girl says you should rinse your hair in cold water to make it shiny. American Girl says you should choose a pet to match your personality. According to American Girl, you should spend 5 minutes

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655851.post-1109709660947454252005-03-01T20:56:00.000+01:002005-03-01T21:41:00.950+01:00

It's not like I didn't have important things I could do this evening. I still haven't done our taxes, for example. I could have cleaned the kitchen. I could even have done something that is both productive and fun, like working on my scrapbooks. And I meant to do all of those things and more . . . just as soon as I caught up on my blog reading.Funny how one thing can lead to another when I'm

Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389316779377238784noreply@blogger.com3