Sunday, May 28, 2006

One day in Munich

We spent a day in Munich.

 

A friend had a one day layover for a flight, so we headed down for a whirlwind day of fun. It rained all day, and the boy and I were sick, so we did not do much, but we had a great time. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Happy Towel Day, everyone!

Towel Day

What do I do?


Carry your towel with you throughout the day to show your participation and mourning.


When do I do it?


May 25th.


Where do I do it?


Everywhere.


Why a towel?


To quote from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical
value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Monday, May 22, 2006

The new Bike

A short trip down to the bottom of the hill? No problem!

 

It looks so much longer on the way home!

 

I found this bike at the thrift store for only three dollars. Unfortunately, it had no pedals. So it sat for a while until I was able to track down the correct size pedal (it took three stores, the last one being 3 hours away!). Then the rain started. So the bike has been sitting by the door for almost a full month now. This was a happy, patient, boy! Posted by Picasa

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Happy birthday, Bruddah IZ

He would have been 47.

We celebrated his birthday by going to the annual luau on base. Today was cold and rainy, so we did not stay too long, but the food was good, and the family was happy.

Pigs in the imu
The pork was delicious!

Grinds
As was everything else. Yesterday, someone told me that they did not understand standing in a long line for this food. I replied that this meal was 3000 miles closer than the last Hawaiian plate I'd had. (New York in November) It was so worth the wait!

Upside down on the bouncy slide
Look at that smile!

Fierce Battle
The boy fencing with a new friend.

Aloha!
My happy men. We were very happy to be dressed in Aloha wear again. Most of Zanla's casual shirts are aloha, and many of my skirts are as well. The boy managed to grow out of almost everything this year, so this shirt is new. He liked it very much.

It was a beautiful day.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

How to entertain yourself during a stau

On our way home from the ball, we got caught in the beginning of a stau (traffic jam). We were lucky, and it only took us two hours to go twelve miles. We later heard tales of six hour delays. We agree that when we return to Heidelberg we will go by train. It is a four hour ride, which is the median amount of time it took us to drive. The trip to the city took us three hours. The trip home took over five hours.

This was how one man dealt with the delay:
  (look under the sign)

This was how we handled the extra time:
  (ok, not at all surprising, I know.) Posted by Picasa

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Outdoor flowers,indoor flowers

 
This is a lovely group of flowers growing outside my neighbbors house.

 
And this is the ...interesting... bouquet which my darling boy brought inside for me. Ah well, he loves me, what else can I say. Posted by Picasa

Monday, May 01, 2006

German Class

 

Not a great picture, sorry. The boy is holding his certificate at the end of his weekly German class. He learned some very basic things, and we will work together to help him remember them. Two days after this picture, I registered him for Kindergarden next year. He will be in the American school, and he looks forward to learning new things. Posted by Picasa

Picking dandelions in Nurnburg

  Posted by Picasa