Well ...

- Vincenzo, our tiger cat -

   Well, I haven't been updating my blog for a while. Sorry. My last post actually was exactly a year ago, but enough time passed with lots of things happening throughout the last twelve months. Now Vincenzo will keep an eye on me and most of the time I am watched very closely by him or one of his buddies in the house while I explore the new blogger changes, get my computer repaired and finally started sewing again. Yeah, even the sewing machine was covered by dust and only occasionally used.

- Project #1 in 2013 -

I need to be a little more creative again and get more motivation for everything, so here is a peek to the first new project I started in 2013 and it definitely needed to be something cheerful and colorful. I used lots of scraps again not one piece is perfectly the same as another and I am sure the result also will be one hundred percent imperfect and that's perfectly fine for this look I am going for.

My mom from Germany is visiting us right now since a couple days and she taught me how to sew, however I got her totally addicted to quilting. :) And not just her, Karin, too. This morning after the kids were all off with the school bus we slowly got ready for a road trip south to Roundrock and after a couple of stops before finally made it to Joann Fabric and Craft Store. Equipped also with Karin's shopping list - in digital form on my kindle to include her pictures - we spent almost two hours there.

- Here, Karin, the shopping list in digital form on my kindle from you, so we would be able to find exactly what you are looking for. - 

My mom just found a little bit of fabric to use here and a little bit to take home. The lady at the cutting table had lots of patience cutting it from her and also told us her story from living in Kitzingen, Germany, for a few years. The store was filled with lots of seniors due to the special discount today and quite a few were asking her what she is going to do with ALL that fabric.

- one of her favorite places in the States -

Now she is already back at the sewing machine and working on a quilt for Soren like a busy bee.

It is HOT in TEXAS

Anybody up for travelling? Go ahead. I am staying home for right now.

Frankfurt Airport - the kids with Oma & Opa

I do really have to say as much trouble and as whiny as my kids can be when it really has to be I can count on my kids. When flying back from Frankfurt to the States the changed the gates twice on us and twice we had huge delays so in both airport we had a lot of walking to do, no correct me, in Frankfurt we walked a lot, in Philadelphia we landed so late and it took so much time to get after immigration and customs to get through security again that our connection flight was already boarding that we literally had to ran through the airport from terminal to terminal twice because the printed our gate information wrong to catch the flight minutes before closing the door, only to wait an hour for take off. The girls did great and it was rough. But we made it instead of spending a night at the Philadelphia airport stuck.

Just to come back here to deal in the morning with a not working car and roadside assistance and the garage. And chasing cat hair for two days two months worth. But it is nice to be home.

After lots of cleaning and unpacking and organizing we took off to the lake yesterday because it is just too hot outside to do anything else outdoors. And today we are taking it a little easy before before our week will be busy with getting ready for school, appointments and just everyday and normal life.

A date 15 years ago

This August, 15 years ago we had a date. Leland and me. We planned on meeting at the Anscavallo, at the ugly horse statue three weeks from "now". That was after my gradutation and trip and his field time. I just turned 19 and he was 21. A long time ago and a long time at that time and neither one of us knew if the other one would actually show up.

We both did.

Fours years later with lots of long distances relationships due to college and new duty stations in between we married. Not at that Anscavallo, but in Wuerzburg and in 2000 we left Germany for good. The kids and me came back for visits, but Leland never did have the chance.

15 years* later we just had to stop once at the ugly horse statue and showed the kids the spot where we met again. (*Almost 15 years later, because we did that already in June.)

- Somehow Ansbach truly has a problem with modern art and beauty - ok it is in the eye of the beholder - but most of the statue are truly ugly - and I do love art.


One of the favorite places of the kids in town. The playground right across of the bridge of the mall before going into downtown with a little waterfall to splash in. A "Biergarten" and Cafe right there. It is not huge, just small, but places like that I love about Germany.

You can even see a part of the original "Berliner Mauer" (Berliner Wall) standing right in the center since October 3rd, 1990 as memorial against oppression, inhumanity and intolerance.

Another castle - Colmberg

Last week on our way to Wuerzburg we took some backway roads, because we had to stop at the office. One of the technic guys their did some magic and found a solution for my computer problem and I am really thankful that he took the time even I only stop by at the office once every two or three years. lol.

On the way I snapped this picture. Burg Colmberg. Yes another castle. We have quite a few around here. Small, hidden. Not really.

Yesterday, the kids went horse riding and we were early so my mom suggested to stop there. I have been there years ago, long ago, even with Leland once for dinner in the restaurant inside. You have an absolutely gorgeous view from up there. There are not really enough words to describe the impressions from places like this, neither can you catch it with the camera, but I can give you a small glimpse.

Don't you feel like being set back in time at places like this?

Quilts made in Germany

There finally was a sunny day to go outside and to take pictures of the girls' quilts and pillows Oma made for them before we packed them up. We have to show them off.

Bella loves guitars.

And Chiara of course horses. No question.

Yes, we already can start thinking about packing again. In a week from now we are already back on our way to Dallas. Time goes by fast.

Green, green. green is alles was ich sehe

Last night was a late night for Bella, but she really really wanted to go and why not. It was something special. Neither one of us has seen it before, Soren and Chiara stayed with Oma supposingly sleeping and Karin, Bella and me took a LATE NIGHT STROLL through ANSBACHS GRUENE NACHT (Green Night). It doesn't get really dark before 9.30/10.00 o'clock in the evening here so this event started officially at 22.00 till 4 in the morning.

By the way 3 am sounds like a perfect time for the Green Night visit if you every should choose to go, believe me. Espcially if you are a person who loves the midnight supermarkt shopping like me. We didn't, but we should have. lol

All of the old downtown and the castle was illuminated and most of it in green. The covered even all the street lights in green.

I tried taking pictures and a few turned out while the others are a wiggly mess without a tripod, but it took us 1,5 hours to get through most of it including the little bit further away parking spot after the town was packed. The people here love the fests and it didn't rain for a change so it was well worth a celebration. LOL. We still were packed in shirt, sweatshirt jacket, jeans jacket just to stay warm.

Didn't I mention before it was packed? All corners were stages with music, bands, performances, not to forget the food and drinks and for sure not all was non alcoholic.

But we kept is short after our "sight seeing tour" and also for kid age appropriate with an italian icecream treat for the way back to the car.

Sommersdorfer Schloss - a little more history

The Schloss Sommersdorf is a picturesque small castle with all the ingredients of a proper fairy-tale: keep, turrets, tall towers, spiral staircases, stone bridges, ramparts, and even a moat.

And it's location is just five minutes from my home town. So after driving through Sommersdorf a few times already since we are, we finally had a few minutes on the way back and it was NOT pouring down right that moment, so we stopped. We just had to, like every time we are back here. Because this place is magical and a step back in time.

You enter the castle through an outer guardhouse, a pink building topped by a whimsical clock, go over a moat and into a rose-filled courtyard. It is private property and the owner lives there but does rent it out to guests. Doesn't sound nice staying in a castle for a vacation?

You can't enter further into the castle except when you are a guest or rent one of the rooms for a special event, but I had the chance twice in the past. Once about 5 years ago for my cousin's wedding and a long time ago when I still was a teenager to step behind the thick walls to bring old costumes back to the castle owner. We were upstairs and even there it truly is like you imagine an old castle out of a movie including old knights standing there. Amazing. Enchanting.

On the left of entrance is a walkway to the castle chapel which is also still used and open to be visited.

The stone bridge used to be a draw bridge. Can you imagine?

No, that's not the old castle's mailbox, but an old German mailbox in which you throw your mail in to mail off. I haven't seen one out of wood since ever, but all mailbixes are still bright yellow and have the posthorn sign. Do you want to write?