Watch out for those snowballs!

 
 

We're off again!

Sorry to be out of touch, but we are out of touch. We have no real internet access for a bit. Hope everyone is having fun!

Sweet boy

 
 

Reading

So I just finished my 8th book read so far this year. Last year I ended up with over 100 books read. What is it about reading that feels so good to me? I would honestly rather read than do just about anything else. I am a fast reader, but I tend not to remember a good deal of what I read, which means (to me) that I read for the pleasure of reading, rather than the joy of learning. Not that I don't learn, but with a constant stream of fiction/travel/biography/kidlit, there just isn't much there for me to actually learn, is there?

I need to think on this.....

Alpine Villiage

This was the grocery store in Mieders

 
 

Rodeling Family

We spent the weekend on a rodel in Austria.


 


"Rodel" is the German word for sled. The sleds are beautiful and can hold a child and one adult easily. We never actually went down the mountain all together. The boy went down once with me and twice with his dad, and he wanted to stay and do it again and again!

Rodeling is much more like using a luge than a sled. The top of the mountain was just that. We shared a five minute gondola ride with real skiers to get to the top of the track. It took 20 minutes of constant motion to get to the bottom. We look forward to doing it again, and will have our own rodel before long. 

Ice Crystals

 
 

This looks even better in the LARGER size!

Off for the weekend

Photos to follow.

Two kitties on the couch

 


Sadly, Honu has left the couch, decidig that a food coma is best experienced on the floor just outside the kitchen.

Nulu is still unable to move. 

Running Boy

 


We went to a birthday party over the weekend. The main party game was running. Yay running! 

At the Train Station

 


We dropped the Grands off at the train station a week ago! They are home now, with many good stories to tell.

We had a reat time, and look forward to the next visit! 

Holiday Collage 2005

collage5
Originally uploaded by allysther.

Ok, I should have put this out earlier, but didn't. This includes all of the photos in the flickr set of Holiday photos.

To see it really big, go HERE

Candlelight

Candlelight
Originally uploaded by allysther.

At the Killien Cathedral in Wurtzburg, Germany.

Narnia

We finally got a chance to see this movie. What a beautiful film! A definate Oscar nod for costuming. It was strange to revisit the story after not having read the books in so long, and I look forward to reading them again.

The family behind us included a 8-10 year old boy. When the movie ended he jumped out of his seat and yelled "That was magnificent! My favorite movie ever!" I can't really add to a review like that, so I'll let it stand.

Tracking my books for the year

I'll be using a new website to track the books I read this year.





I am still Bookcrossing, this is different. On Bookcrossing, I can not keep track of the books I read which are not mine. This site will allow me to track borrowed books along with my owned books. I'm using it as a fun visual tool.

In 2005 I read 103 books. My goal for 2006 is to increase my reading (which will also decrease my time online--not a bad thing.)

The view from just above our New Year's apartment

 
 

We slept at the TOP of this hill

 
 

I am holding the camera level. The angle you see here is real!

Our Apartment

 
 

New Years in Prague

We had a great time.
A month ago, when I looked for a room in Prague for the weekend, I was amazed to find that there was NOTHING left. I eventually discovered an apartment rental firm, The Castle Steps and we rented the redwood Apartment for two days. The apartment turned out to be the perfect place to stay, and when we return to Prague they will be the first place I contact.

Prague was amazing at New Years. There were so many people out and about that if it had not been for the snow on the ground one would think that the summer holidays had been pushed back. Truly astonishing crowds. Because of the crowds we did not actually go into most of the museums and memorials, but we had a great time not seeing the interiors.

The food was filling, the company was jovial, and all in all it was a fantastic trip. I will post photos seperately.

Today we said goodbye to my parents. They are off to Munich for a few days and then head home on Thursday. We know that they will have a grand time and look forward to hearing all about it!