"I'm Never Eating Again"

As some of you might know there is a holiday similar to Thanksgiving in Germany, but it isn't anything like a real whole family meeting for Thanksgiving and having all the food you could possibly ever want! Which is made with love and years of experience. Well, Germany had a Thanksgiving this year, or at least one family. I was in the kitchen for the entire day cooking and it was so much fun. I did, however, state at one point about always having plenty of time and then saving the "little things" for the end and then everything blows up and the people start coming, you're not finished and then they ask if they can help and you end up with a run-on sentence and an unfinished meal! BUT everything got done and it all tasted amazing. The menu for the evening was as follows:

• One Brown Sugar and Honey Glazed Ham
• Mama's Mashed Potatoes
• Ruby's Sweet Corn (My great grandmothers recipe.)
• Very Easy Mac n' Cheesy 
• Bread rolls
• Pumpkin Pie (My first time doing everything from scratch, not my best pie, but it was good.)
• Shirley Ann's 'Nanner Puddin' (For those non-country folk it translates to Banana Pudding.)

There was also homemade apple cider for the kids and a nice apple cider sangria for the adults!

The following day was the day that we all said goodbye to Stefan. I know what you're thinking, my cooking wasn't THAT bad! Stefan is currently in Australia doing another production of Wagner's Ring Cycle as, you guessed it, Siegfried! In Melbourne to be exact. It was sad and we all miss him, but he said he was liking it okay aside from a few odd directors directions.

Bis Spätter!

Mannheim, Water Towers, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Keeping up with a blog is a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be. There are a million things that I would love to post, sadly I just can't think of words for them. But I am trying and I hope that all of you are hanging in there with me! So here goes!

York and Paris all at the same time. If you don't know, Mannheim was bombed in WWII and most of the historical architecture was destroyed. There are a few buildings that are still standing and in the middle of the city stands a water tower..... Think about an American water tower..... now think of a castle tower. Take the castle tower and put water in it and there you have it! This was by far the most beautiful devise for holding water that I have ever seen, and I had a Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass whiskey glass....it broke, we won't talk about it. (Still makes me want to cry.)

This is the water tower!

This is drinking water. Coolest thing ever!

These were absolutely beautiful vine covered walkways next to the water tower.

I was on the water tower. You can walk around it. Gorgeous fountain. 

And now for something completely different...

I don't know how many reading this post know how much I like a good cup of Joe, but you better bet your bottom dollar that you will by the time you've finished reading!!! Upon hearing about the opportunity to have a day in Mannheim, what did I do? Looked up if there was a Starbucks! I was very glad to see that they did, and very sad when I didn't write down where it was. I don't know who the genius is that decided to put coffee and pumpkin together, but whoever it is, God Bless them for being such angles. Now, the closest Starbuck to me right now is 45 minutes drive away. I went from living in a college town where I could walk to Starbucks and get back to class on time. I love the holiday drinks there, and like to get one of each every year...I am a gold card holder if that tells you anything.

Pumpkin spice latte with a blueberry cheesecake muffin.

Apfelrollen with a coffee. I swear I'm not addicted.... That's all for now. More to come this week! Wednesday is a big day!!! Wish me luck!

Bis bald!

Forgotten photos and Adventures Out the Whazoo!

Alright folks! Here are the pictures that I promised in the last post and forgot to post!
 The following are very random but I will do my best!

Stefan, the birthday boy! We had a tour through the city. It was awesome!

FUN FACT: Carl Marx was married in this church!

That's a cannon ball....

This is the church that Sabine and Stefan were married in! 

The following are from a different time, not the tour.

Chari will just lay on my feet if I stand somewhere for too long.... Jut thought you ought to know because it's absolutely adorable!

This is from the concert! Stefan walked in at the right time... This is the church.

I got excited that I was really dressed up and decided to have my own photo op when no one was looking.

The next ones are from a trip that we took to a historical village that is similar to Cade's Cove (for those of you who know) or like colonial Williamsburg.

Lukas and Alex, an exchange student from London.

Almost caught up! Promise!!!! Next up is my very first big production opera! Wagner's Flying Dutchman!

This was the view from my BOXSEAT!!!! How Stefan landed these tickets I will meet know, but it was great!

I will be posting a desperate blog for Mannheim. Coming shortly. So shortly that you shouldn't even blink. Keep breathing, just don't blink.

Just Call Me Famous Dave!

Hello all! Well, this has been a ..... few weeks. Not quite sure what exactly to call them. I have plenty of pictures I just haven't put them on my computer yet, so I will do a later blog of only pictures so as to catch up on my major slacking! Terribly sorry!

Well, there were about four days where I could not get out of bed without feeling like I was about to.... well, I was sick so I will just let you know that it was a stomach infection and I won't go any further. I could not eat anything other than pretzels and dry bread and LOTS of water. I think I watched about four movies a day, I fell asleep through half of them, but it was a nice little Disney marathon. I also started watching Friends. It still surprises me sometimes when I think that I am living the dream! Well, a dream, one of my many.

I have gotten to talk to so many friends back home and it is so fantastic to hear their voices again!!! Also, made me cry at some points. I think I could have sat for hours and talked to them like we used to except for the fact that we used to have coffee while having long talks and it is usually about 11pm when I get to talk to them. I don't mind to drink coffee that late if in fact I will be writing a very long essay or I am VERY interested in a book, or if I don't have to wake up the following day until noon! Sadly, I am feeling a bit old as of late, but hopefully that will pass as soon as fall actually comes and there is no Cleveland weather of 50 degrees one day followed by 80 the next.

Speaking of cold weather!! Guess who is bringing American Thanksgiving to Germany! This girl! I am beyond excited! Although it will be very early because Stefan will be going to Australia to sing in early October and will not be back until December! So! in the following weeks I will be preparing for Fall. Hopefully I can find a few things for decorations because, if you don't know, I work along side my grandmother and mother in a party business called Three Bells. (Shameless advertisement!) I will be taking it upon myself to truly treat this family to a whole day of relaxing and spend my whole day from morning to night in the kitchen! A place where I feel most at ease. I don't know what I will be making for lunch yet, but breakfast and dinner are taken care of! I just need to find one pumpkin so that I can make a pumpkin pie! My Tennessee (Sevier County and Cleveland) famous pumpkin pie! It will not be the same not making Thanksgiving dinner with my grandmother, but hopefully I can make a Thanksgiving dinner almost as nice as what she has given me over the years. I know how I will be giving my thanks over this very makeshift Thanksgiving.

OH! Yes! On an almost related note of "speaking of my grandmother"! I made her world class fried chicken for the kids yesterday! I have never made it before, but hopefully I got the right measurement of love in it. Sophia had fried chicken in Seattle this summer and has been talking about it the whole time i've been here. I made it and she said that it was the third best fried chicken that she had ever tasted! Which I gladly took because she is the picky eater of the family! Her first running was the chicken in Seattle, followed by her mothers chicken, and falling into third place is my grandmothers. Which I am sure I did something wrong if it fell into third, but I am happy to have gotten a "YUUMMMM" followed by her picking up the chicken with her hands and really digging in!

Today is just a lot of "AHHHHH" for tomorrow. The concert! How did it come up so fast!! My dress now needs to be altered, somehow I have managed to lose a few inches since I have been here. Must be all the Dinkel! (Basically no sugar.) Today will consist of ironing, altering, and practicing! I have been waiting for tomorrow for about four years now. Especially for about two years since my clarinet teacher told me that I basically would't amount to anything on the clarinet. I guess we will see tomorrow! If I give my signature to anyone then I will count that as something and probably won't be able to sleep for the follow three nights because I will be so excited. If that happens, I promise not to forget anyone! HA! Let's be honest, no one can even read my signature. I think it looks something like Dan L. Haskeets. If you ever see that signature save it! Well, I need to get some work done!
See you on the other side!

Bis Bald!

Surrounded by Such Talent and Beauty!

Okay! It's been forever since I have blogged. Like a full week! I can and can't believe it all at the same time. Things have been going swimmingly, finally getting into a swing and it feels great! So here is what has happened. I am going to try to sum everything up in pictures. Here we go!

(The above are from dinner on the Rhine! Sunset and beauty)

(Just a few more from the Fischer Stechen in case you missed all the others. HA!)

 (Stefan went to Moscow to sing last week and when he got back he had something new for the house!)

(The smallest one is smaller than my pinky finger nail......)

(I went out by myself for a little bit the other morning and had a blast! I felt like a real "German". Which is saying a lot since all that I can do at this moment is not entirely the bare minimum, but a little bit above that. This is a restaurant, and an old one at that.)

Found a small (about ten feet wide) coffee shop and had breakfast. As you can tell I was hungry and the crescent was heavenly and I took one bite and couldn't stop! The same goes for the Chai latte! Before I knew it an hour had passed and I had basically moved in with everything that I had all over this table! Nevertheless it was a very pleasant visit and I intend to not make it the only one!)

On my way back to the car I was going to stop at this music store and see if they had a CD that I want. Sadly, they were closed BUT! Look at this!!!!! This is a poster for the concert that we are putting on this month!!! If you look very closely you will see my name is the third down on the right upper corner! I just hope the reeds that I've broken in while I've been here will hold out and sound as good as they do today on the 27th. If you're reading this and you're near Hargesheim, Germany please come to our benefit concert! 

As the title of this says talent I would just like to brag about the family that has graciously let me into their home to help out! The Vinke family are absolutely fantastic and even though they will never replace my actual family they are helping a lot by helping me to fell welcome and I am blessed to have gotten the email back in May. I had no idea just what God had in store for my life after Lee University, but a lot of things are coming into focus. I still have no idea what God has in store for me (conductor of orchestras, singing in an opera or musical, playing clarinet or even working at a coffee shop.) As of right now, I don't know much of anything, but I do know that there is a plan and that it has started with a degree and now I am here. I know that there is a reason that I have a degree in music and that God has placed me with some really excellent musicians.

Ta ta for now!

Bis bald

My lips are sunburned

Today was absolutely perfect. We had lunch on the Nahe river where bees are very friendly and not afraid to ask for some food. It was beautiful, however, and the food was very good. After we finished eating we went for a walk down the river and through some of the older parts of town. 

(These are the 400 year old buildings that I was talking about.)

(A walkway of roses!)

(It was very bright outside today.)

(The second try wasn't too good either.)

After walking around we stopped to get some ice cream and coffee. I had the best strawberry milk shake I think I've ever had. (It still doesn't beat my grandmothers peanut butter shakes though.) 

(It was quite pretty however.)

After we were all ready we headed back to the house where we played badminton and it was girls vs. boys. It was a blast!!!!! I hadn't had that much fun with a sport in quite some time. Then we all went inside to get ready for dinner and Sophia and I went down to my room to look at some of the things that my parents sent me. You know, a teddy bear, some books (Frankenstein, The Canterbury Tales, My German bible, and the last of my travel books) and a map. Perfectly normal package! After this we went upstairs to see what Lukas wanted to show me.

 

These are all of his Lego technics. There are seven. They are so cool!!!!!!! He wants to be an engineer someday and I totally back that up. His brain is amazing when it comes to stuff like that. 

That had been my beautiful day. As for now, I will leave you with some pictures, words, and a polite...

Bis bald.

"Touch."

Today is Lukas's birthday and we had a little garden party then went bowling for about two and a half hours! It was a blast! I miss bowling so much! More than that, I miss not having horrible pains in my hands, but such is life. On the way to bowling we got out on a stretch where I finally got to drive about 120kph. I was a pretty happy gal.

The last few days have been fun and I got to go to a children's choir performance for Sophia in a 700+ year-old church! I also got to touch a 410 year-old building that was hanging from a bridge! For those who may not know this about me, I am an European (war) historian, and it is a small life goal of mine to touch every building over 300 years- old that I possibly can. If you ever have the chance to see an old building or anything of the sort with me expect *mouth hanging open when finding out how old* followed by one word "touch" and a small giggle. Not sure why I like to touch old buildings, but I would hug them if I could. There is just something about a 600 year-old building that is still standing and nature. Both are miracles and I am unable to not smile every time I step foot into another country.

God is good.

Bis bald