Happy New Year

The picture above is "courtesy of my husband" wishing everybody a Happy New Year. The picture below is what we are enjoying at this moment waiting for the New Year to ring in. Jamie calls it glue wine. It's not that it is sticky, maybe a little with the oranges, but rather a spiced mulled warm wine called Glühwein. Jamie had her first taste of it here in Germany. People here always drink that during the winter months. So, here's to all of you: Have a happy and healthy new year.

Merry Christmas - Frohe Weihnachten

to my family and friends, allen unseren Verwandten, Freunden und Bekannten.

On the twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me, twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Jamie's visit, we drove to the Airport to bring her back for her flight home. Those are the moments I hate, but I keep on reminding myself: Every goodbye is a looking forward to the next time we pick up family. It has been a twelve wonderful days with Jamie.

Tag 12 - Der Abschied. Diese Tage hasse ich, die Kinder zum Flughafen bringen. Dann erinnere ich mich daran, dass jeder Abschied aber auch wieder ein Wiedersehen bringt.

Es waren 12 schöne Tage mit Jamie.

On the eleventh day of Christmas

my true love sent to me, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Jamie's visit, we cleaned Oma's apartment and then I packed Jamie's suitcases. See before and after.... but not everything fit. After that we went to the hospital to visit Oma. Jamie said "good bye" and the alarm was set for 5 a.m.

Tag 11: Wir haben die Wohnung meiner Mutter aufgeräumt, dann habe ich Jamie's Koffer gepackt. Nicht alles hat rein gepasst... wird nachgeschickt. Dann sind wir nochmal ins Krankenhaus wo sich Jamie von ihrer Oma verabschiedet hat. Den Wecker haben wir für 5 Uhr morgens gestellt.

On the tenth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Jamie's visit, Oma got ill, we called an ambulance, and she was admitted to the hospital. After that we went to town, ate some crepes at the market, went back to the hospital to see how Oma was doing and made our own Feuerzangenbowle that evening. Rum gets poured on the sugar cone, is lit up and the stuff drips into the spiced wine. Delicious!

Tag 10: Meine Mutter wurde ohnmächtig, wir riefen den Notarzt und sie wurde ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert. Wir sind nach dem Krankenhaus nochmal auf den Markt, haben crepes gegessen und sind zurück ins Krankenhaus um meine Mutter zu besuchen. Abends haben wir uns dann daheim selbst eine Feuerzangenbowle gemacht.

On the 9th day of Christmas

my true love sent to me, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Jamie's visit we went back to the Würzburg Christmas Market and had one of those "Feuerzangenbowle". Whew, that was strong.......

Tag 9: Auf dem Würzburger Weihnachtsmarkt haben wir eine Feuerzangenbowle genossen. Danach haben wir nicht mehr viel gespürt :-).

On the 8th day of Christmas

my true love sent to me, eight maids a-miling, severn swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the 8th day of Jamie's visit, we took Oma along and drove to ansbach. First we went to their shopping center, and then we strolled through their Christmas Market.

Tag 8 von Jamie's Besuch: Nach Ansbach gefahren, hatten da die Oma dabei. Eingekauft im Brückencenter und dann über den Ansbacher Weihnachtsmarkt gelaufen.