Life: Idiotropic

The other day Elise and Tiara were laughing hysterically together in the girls' room. There are open backed bookshelves right next to Elise' bed (part of Arianna's bunk bed), so Tiara was laying across one with her head sticking out and Elise was on the top shelf hanging over looking at her sister and they were playing peek-a-boo. It was just one of those sweet sister moments and Elise was having a ball.

A couple days later Elise and Luci were playing happily pawing at each other like kitty cats. Seconds later, Luci was screaming. She now has 6 dark red scabs by her eye - nice stripes. She looks like she got attacked by a cat. I've had several people ask me if our cat got her. No, it was her sister.

Elise may be cute, but she is the youngest and has learned to take care of herself... she is not to be underestimated. Now, she certainly didn't attack Luci in a vicious manner, but she isn't all cuteness and cuddles either.

I'd planned on carving out pumpkins this weekend and thought it would be fun to share that tradition with our friends, so we picked today and invited some people over for some good ol' fashioned pumpkin carvin'.

An American family came over and two of my Spanish friends came over with their husbands and kids. Halloween is just beginning to be celebrated in some parts of Spain, driven by commercialism. In Mallorca, squash are traditionally eaten more than in other parts of Spain and they do have special occasions when they carve different kinds of squash. But none of my Spanish friends had ever carved pumpkins before. We had our long plastic folding tables set up with big plastic bowls for the guts. The adults cut off the tops and the kids all got their hands messy cleaning out the insides. The kids drew faces on the pumpkins with sharpies and the adults cut out the pieces. It was fun. I think everyone had a good time. Kirk cleaned and roasted batches of pumpkin seeds with different seasonings. I'd made hot apple cider and pumpkin cookies. Everyone stood around the table of food and talked for a couple of hours.

Tiara's pumpkin (not yet photographed in completion) was completed in stages. She kept up, but she really wanted to do it all herself, so it came out one way and then she changed it, and then a little later, she cut more out of the mouth and changed it again. It was the first time that I'd let her carve it completely by herself. And she did have fun though it is not evident from the oh-mom-just-leave-me-alone-and-stop-taking-so-many-pictures expression on her face. Arianna drew a traditional face - triangles and a big smile. She did a great job cleaning it out and was all smiles in the process.

Luci and Elise took a bit longer. I ended helping both of them clean out the insides, but they had fun drawing on the outside. Luci drew a great face and Kirk did an excellent job cutting it out exactly as she'd drawn it, so hers was the most unique of the bunch and got a lot of smiles. She was compared to Picasso or Dali. It's definitely Luci - she never accepts the status quo. Elise scribbled all over hers, so Kirk carved a simple face into it. By then all the kids (there were 10 of them) were upstairs running around playing and the adults were all standing around talking. It was one of those pleasant days when I seemed to be able to speak in Spanish fairly well which felt good. I wasn't tripping all over my words today as much as usual.

I shared my recipes with my friends. They didn't know what allspice was (I use it in my mulled cider), so I looked it up in my dictionary. The Spanish word for allspice translates to Jamaican pepper. I wonder if allspice really comes from Jamaica. It certainly doesn't seem like pepper at all to me other than it's shape.

Until tonight I'd never been to an NCO induction - a really had a very hazy idea of what an NCO actually was, but still, a nice dinner with friends and a reason to dress up and go out with my husband doesn't happen very often.

NCO stands for "non-commissioned officer" - the upper ranks of the enlisted. Everyone was very dressed up. The military all wore their dress uniforms. The women were almost all wearing black. It was the basic military function... cocktail hour with mingling - always my favorite part, introductions and pomp of various kinds, little speeches, dinner (chicken, potatoes and broccoli - nothing stupendous, but it had flavor), and the never-ending speech by a guy who I'm sure has something to say, but just didn't know how to get to the point and needed serious editing because he could have gone on forever and I think that it seriously pained him to stop at all when he really just wanted to spill every story of his 25 year military career right there in front of us all and neatly tie it together with cute little quips and lessons learned. Get the idea? Yeah... it was painful. But, it was fun to dress up. The dinner was ok. It was great to see friends and to be out with Kirk. And, the highlight for me - really - was the singing.

If I could have recorded it someway, I would have. It was fabulous. Part of the introductory pomp included the color guard. After they posted their colors, and before the twangy off-tune singer painfully belted out the Star Spangled Banner, a German man got up and sung the German national anthem. His voice was like something I'd pay to hear on stage - clean and pure and just beautiful - professional with a hit of operatic flare, but nothing so over-the-top that you'd want to gouge your eye out or anything. And though I've sung the hymn put to that same melody in church, I'd never actually heard the German anthem. It was even the first time that Kirk had ever heard the complete song. Really, it was something special. Next time I'll try to record it.

This is about the only time that I can photograph Elise without blurry photos... she runs and jumps and moves and bounces all day long until all at once she just crashes and sleeps so hard a 50-piece orchestra could march through our house and she wouldn't wake up. I know this to be true because her three sisters often make noise as loud if not louder than a 50-piece orchestra and by some kind miracle, she remains asleep. I love this picture though - it is a classic - Elise and her old bunny, the critter that goes wherever she goes.

Update - I just made my first Spanish Tortilla and I put turkey bacon in mine - sauteed it with the onions and it turned out fantastic! Kirk and the girls all loved it! I think you could put just about anything in this - peppers and taco meat with salsa, ham and cheese, roast vegetables... it's so yummy!

And for the fun... a friend put this video on her blog and it made both Kirk and I laugh - it's so funny! So, here it is! Enjoy it!

This morning my Spanish friends came over and it was my turn to share a recipe with them. Since we're right in the middle of pumpkin season, I decided share my pumpkin bread recipe with them. That was going to be it, but while making the coffee and setting the table, I realized that I didn't have any chocolate cookies and after countless Friday morning coffees with my friends, I know that you can't serve coffee to Spanish without chocolate. I'd set out my mini-Lindt bars and my pumpkin bowl filled with orange and black MnM's, but we needed something else, so Tiara volunteered to make chocolate chip cookies - another American classic. She just used the recipe off of the bag and they were a big hit. Then I showed them how to make pumpkin bread - an easy recipe - and made them in my mini-loaf pan for them to take home. The recipe is quick and easy and very yummy, so here it is! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

Mix together in a large bowl:
15oz canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
2/3 cup evaporated milk

Mix in another bowl:
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
1 t. salt
2 t. baking soda

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour into two greased bread pans and bake for 45minutes in a 350 degree oven or until a toothpick comes out clean.

OPTIONAL TOPPING: Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1 T flour, 1 T melted butter, and 1/8 T. cinnamon. Spread over bread batter in the pans and then bake as directed.

We're still teaching Luci how to walk. Of course, Luci's been walking since she was 14 months old and she is great at skipping, running, hopping, and, her favorite pastime, climbing bookshelves, but she is LAZY when it comes to walking and would ride in the stroller all the time if we let her. I've endured way too many sidewalk meltdowns when I've said, "No, I'm not going to carry you" or "No, you can't ride in the stroller. You need to walk." So, this pumpkin season has been an especially good excuse to get some practice in as we have a wonderful stand just a little walk away.

And it's a challenge for Luci. Last time I made her walk the entire way there and then only let her ride a little back. Today she walked about half each way, but didn't whine nearly as much as usual. That is progress.

We love our little veggie stand. They are so nice there and always have a really beautiful display. The girls each picked out a nice orange pumpkin for themselves and I picked out a nice sage green one for me and a big white one for Kirk. We also got a few little ones to turn into pumpkin vases for teachers and neighbors. The pumpkins come in orange, red, white, sage, and tan. Some little ones are darker green and some have orange and white vertical stripes. They are all really fun. It's tempting to buy more, but I don't eat enough squash to warrant it.

So, with wagon loaded with pumpkins and just enough space for one small child, we started the walk home. Elise walked or ran the entire way back home with no desire to ride for even a moment. She was keeping a pretty good pace too until she decided that it was time to learn to walk backwards. Then we were down to a snails pace - or slower. She was having fun though and made it look so enticing that both Tiara and Arianna started walking backwards too. Luci pretended to be a pumpkin and hid in the wagon for part of the way until her sisters started having races and she wanted to join in. Then she was walking, running, and picking dandelions from the edge of people's yards.

After a little rest I made salt dough and let the girls play for a while. It was quick to make and kept all the kids busy for at least an hour. Arianna made a ghost and the word ghost. Tiara made her name and the word BOO and a couple pumpkins. Luci made about 30 little moons and a scary pumpkin that she liked so much she put it in her pillowcase when she went to bed. Elise just kept putting cookie cutters half way into her dough, then squishing it all up again, so I ended up making one for her that she can paint later. These are the same dough ornaments that I made as a kid. We'll paint them this weekend and lacquer them to save.
Here's the recipe: Combine 3 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Mix well. Turn out onto floured surface and knead until it is smooth and stretchy. Make into 3-D shapes or roll flat and use cookie cutters. Make holes if you want ornaments. Bake on a foil lined cookie sheet at 275 degrees for 1 hour (longer for thicker pieces). Paint with acrylic paints and use a sealant to prevent molding. Store in a dry place.

Annoying things about my two year old...

• Her obsession with my sewing machine thread. Elise loves to pull the end of the thread and run around the legs of my office tables creating a very nice yellow thread spider web. Just a minute ago, she finished spinning her web all around the table legs, then went over to tie up the cat. Misha tolerated it pretty well but ended up looking more like a mummified fly in a spider web than a old grey cat. A minute later Elise was standing next to me with her arms pinned to her sides. "Mommy, help me." She'd wrapped herself too. May be that will teach her the perils of sewing.
  

• Her need to use REAL water in her play kitchen leaving a soppy wet trail from the bathroom sink to her play sink in the playroom. Last night she also managed to create a 1/2" deep lake covering the entire bathroom floor. Ahhh... I've always wanted a water feature. This house has survived two world wars, but there are days when I am really not sure it will survive my children.
• Her ambition to be the next world record cheerio thrower. She takes pleasure in throwing cheerios - smiling brightly, with enthusiasm, as if she were throwing confetti or candy in a parade. She could be the president's wife, tossing candy to the crowds as proud as she looks when she tosses them. May be she'll reach Olympic fame for her feats. Elise - the next gold medalist in the Cheerio-put.
  
• Her spit gargling talent. She's just recently learned to gargle her spit while screaming - a sound that every mother just loves to hear - it's great when throwing a full fledged temper tantrum and pushing away the full cup of milk that she just asked for, thus spilling it all over the floor. (I think my kids are conspiring to buy me a maids uniform for Christmas. They'll get me the waitress apron for my birthday. Did I say that I love to clean? Oh, yes... it's my sole purpose in life! shiver)
• Her desire for thoroughness in everything. This sounds good? No. Not really. Elise is thorough. If she wants to throw cheerios, she will not stop until the last one has been tossed randomly about the room. Her new favorite is "making the beds," a feat that she proudly achieves by throwing every last pillow, blanket, and stuffed animal off each bed in her room (there are three) until the bed is completely cleared. Unfortunately, this desire for thoroughness does not translate into cleaning up a messy floor afterwards.

But... for every annoying thing - thankfully - there is something sweet.

• The way she wakes me up in the morning, cuddling up next to me, whispering "mommy, it's time to wake up," and rubbing my hair or my shoulder like I rub hers at night
• The way she runs around the house on her tippy toes half teetering over like a ship in a storm with her pig tails bouncing up and down
• The way she comes up to me asking, "Can I help you mommy?" and will do just about whatever I need her to help me with (except picking up cheerios)
• Her smile when we play peek-a-boo
• Her crazy laugh (will get that on tape one of these days)
• Her obsession with balloons of all kinds and the look of pure joy on her face when she sees one
• The silly way she talks, dropping the Rs off of the end of words giving her an unusually adorable Jersey-esque accent. It's not car, it's caahee. It's not star, it's staaee. Etc.
  

That list could go on forever...

There is a new family living just a few houses away that have a little girl Arianna's age. Her name is Ria and she is in Aria's class at school. They really enjoy playing together, and since Ria is an only child, her mom enjoys having my girls over to play with Ria and keep her busy. Like most girls, they all like to be princesses and luckily, Ria has 4 Disney princess costumes!

So, here they are in all their splendor.


Arianna, Ria, and Luci in one photo and Elise as Snow White in the other

Sometimes (quite often), my children are not the only big mess makers in the house. We are all learning that messes are best handled with humor... and a quick clean up. Today I heard Kirk yell from the bottom of the stairs, "Tiffany, at the risk of years of ridicule, if you want a good photo op, get your camera!" I ran for my camera and dashed downstairs thinking that the cows were being cute again, and instead, I found the my husband was being, "cute." He was nowhere to be seen, but the evidence was there - sloppy chocolate "health shake" gook all over the previously spotless stove. Where was my husband? Upstairs changing out of his chocolate gook splattered clothing. And yes, he did clean up his mess.

Today was a rush of chores and errands and I was feeling lousy which didn't help, but I woke up this morning with the smell of coffee brewing and the good news that our cows were back.

It's a little thing, but it always makes us happy to look out the window and look at our three beautiful cows. They are not ours really, of course, but we feel like they are ours. And they watch us just like we watch them.

When I open up the rolladn in the morning, they hear it and look up at the window. The girls sit in their playroom window and watch them. They are fun for us because they are so full of personality and act more like puppies than cows. We watch them play and run. They cuddle up close together when they sleep. They come to the fence and let us pet their noses. I love my cows.

The other WONDERFUL thing about today was tonight! Our weeks go by so quickly and our days are packed. Kirk has work and I fill my time with all sorts of things and it seem that we never get time just to sit and talk. Tonight when the little ones were all asleep and Tiara was happily checking her email, Kirk and I walked over to Il Genios - our pizza place - to have a glass of wine together. We could've had a glass of wine here, but it's nice to get out of the house. It feels good to go there too. We've found our Cheers. They know us. We walk in and they all smile and greet us. It's our nice local neighborhood hang-out and it's within eyeshot of our house... so we can go now knowing that Tiara can call my cell if there is a problem and we can run home almost just as quickly as we could run upstairs from the basement.

Having children - especially four of them - made it hard for us to connect for a while. Kirk's time in Korea didn't help that either, but kids do throw things off a bit sometimes. I feel like we're finally getting into a rythm. I'm finding "me time" to balance the kid time, and Kirk and I are finally making time for each other. It's taken almost a year now to find that balance - it's been almost a year since we were reunited as a family, but it's nice. We're growing up - together.

Today I had coffee with my Spanish friends as usual. We sat and enjoyed our hot coffee with warm milk and lots of cookies and cake. I think Elise ate 10 cookies.

Afterward a little time to relax and chat, Maria showed me how to make a Spanish tortilla. It's nothing like a tortilla that you'd buy in a store. This one is made of potatoes and eggs, but is served for any meal. They were having theirs for lunch. Her kids eat it with ketchup, but she serves it also with alioli - an eggless mayonnaise. In Spain, mayonnaise is illegal to serve in the summer. Restaurants cannot serve it at all in the hot months because of past problems with salmonella poisoning. But, alioli, is even better. The recipe is below. Enjoy!



Tortilla Espanola

1. Peel 6 medium sized potatoes (we used those thin skinned ones), then cut them into thin slices like you would for scalloped potatoes. Put into large microwave safe bowl.
2. Mince one small yellow onion and cook over med-high heat until tender in 3T. olive oil.
3. Mix oil and onion into potatoes.
4. Cover and microwave for 15 minutes or until all the potatoes are cooked through and soft.
5. Beat 6-7 eggs well.
6. Pour eggs over potato onion mixture and mix well. It is ok if the potatoes break up a bit. Salt to taste.
   
7. Heat a deep non-stick smooth surfaced pan. (It has to be big enough for the entire batch)
8. Add 3-4T olive oil to pan.
9. Pour potato egg mixture into pan and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
   
10. Using plate or a pan lid, flip tortilla onto the plate or lid, then slide it back into the pan gooey side down to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Flip a couple more times cooking for 20 seconds each until done. Both sides will be brown. The middle should be set and cooked through. (My friends left it a bit gooey in the middle and like it that way. The piece I took home was put in the microwave for another 2 minutes so that it would firm up. It was delicious.)

NOTES: This would be excellent with diced bacon and leeks sauteed in with the onion.

SERVE WITH:

Alioli
Combine 1 part milk with 2 parts vegetable oil. Add 2-3 peeled garlic cloves and a pinch of salt. Blend thoroughly until it is thick and creamy in consistency.

Last night was Canadian night for the International Women's Club, so they put on a Halloween party for us all. We'd been told to wear our "scariest" costumes, so there was a hippie (me), Pooh bear, Tigger, 2 Pirates, a Pink boa-ed cowgirl, a butcher-maid, a couple renessaince women, and about 20 witches.

The room was decked out in traditional Halloween gore... tombstones and skeletons, ghosts and witches. The tables had frozen hands in bowls, plastic spiders, and shot glasses filled with tomato juice and green olives for our "toast."

I had the pleasure of sitting between a great group of Americans and some very nice Turkish ladies. Sitting next to the Turkish was great and it was fun to talk with them, and when they got tired of trying English, it was also nice to have the option of talking with my American friends.

The Canadians served a pea-laden beef stew with French bread for dinner demonstrating just how many adult women still hate cooked peas. The waiters cleared countless pea piled plates. For dessert was cake - white or chocolate, gingerbread skeletons, and peanut butter "eye-balls."

For games they had the traditional and the not-so-traditional. All the reps had to stick our noses through a hole in a black curtain and the audience tried to guess who was who. I, being the most melanin-challenged of the bunch, thought they'd guess me first. Thanks to bad lighting, I was only guessed by the process of elimination. They kept thinking I had the Spanish nose. The next game was the ol' kindergarten standby of sticking your hands into different "body part" foods and guessing what they are and what they're made of, but they kept it tame... jello hearts, grape eyes - unpealed, - spaghetti for brains, etc. In the last game the "volunteers" had the choice to bob for apples or to try to get the apple on the string. Bobbing proved far easier and a lot more entertaining.

The night ended with raffle prizes of which I won none and the traditional gaggle of smokers just outside the front door. I stood out there with friends trying my best to have a nice conversation without breathing. It's almost been a year since we've moved and I'm still not used to the smoke.

Luci and I were cuddling together on the couch this afternoon. She leaned into me and pressed her cheek into mine. When I moved a little, she pulled me back and said, "I can hear the ocean in you."

Grumble.

I've been caught - on film.

I've gotten used to the speeds here. It's 50kph in the cities (about 30mph) and 100kph outside city limits UNLESS OTHERWISE POSTED. That's the tricky part. Just at the edge of our village is a school. There, the posted speed is 30kph. That's slow. Painfully, dreadfully slow.

And, it's nestled right between a 50 and a 100 zone.

Most days there is traffic and a lot of kids there. Today there was noone around, no cars, no kids, no crossing guards. I was going 40kph which is quite slow anyway...

But then I saw the camera. Milliseconds later there was a bright red flash in my face and I turned to see the two policeman in the car behind the camera throwing their heads back and laughing hysterically.

Nice.

So, in 4-6 months I'll get a ticket with my picture in it.

Driving back from the base this morning I had to go through there again. I slowed, almost to a stop, to go the appropriate speed. I flashed my lights at oncoming traffic to warn them. Six cars sped by in a row. Six more bright red flashes and six more disgruntled drivers. They were all going at least 50. Christmas is coming and those police will be getting a nice bonus, I'm sure. They're making a fortune this morning.

Laura is pregnant and her mother was visiting, so she also accompanied us in Leuven. She is a quiet woman and very kind. My kids instantly went to her even though they couldn't speak the same language. Romanian sounds a lot like Italian. I spoke Spanish with her a little and we could understand some, but not enough.

Laura is excited to find out the sex of her baby. So is her mom. Laura told me that the other day her head felt itchy, so she went to scratch it and was disgusted to find it gritty. After a few moments, she realized that there was salt in her hair - a lot of it. Her mom had liberally salted Laura's head. If Laura smelled the salt on her fingers touching her fingers to her nose, then she would have a boy (according to her mother). If she tasted the salt, then she'd have a girl. Watching Laura with her mother demonstrates a sharp image of the old and new worlds - not unlike the bug in the square!

(The fine detailing in the two photos on the left are small pieces of the towns old government building. The first photo shows part of the church's facade with the government building on the right hand edge.)

Leuven, according to our friends, is a "quaint little Flemish town," so on Saturday we went there with our friends to visit with them and to see the town they love so much. Laura and Frank both love it more than Brussels.

Leuven is smaller than Brussels, but it has all the charm of a bigger city and a lot of nice surprises. I'd gotten lost there once after missing my turn on the autobahn, but I'd only been in the outskirts along roads with nice old buildings, but nothing spectacular. Today we drove along some of those same roads, but ended up near the centrum. Our parking lot was like the NW in the fall lined with trees full of colored leaves. A nice church sat in the background. We followed Frank as he led us down a few streets toward the center of town. The main street got prettier as we got closer to the center. Chocolate shops, bakeries, nice clothing and shoe stores, and artistic flower shops lined that street.

Saturday is market day there, so it got a little more crowded as we walked past the pastry and vegetable stands. One vendor was selling chandeliers and mirrors. It was a surprisingly nice market - better than I've seen in Germany or The Netherlands - and the olive guy was there selling delicious garlic, olives, nuts, and dried fruits.

Rushing past the market (not by choice - my fellow travelers didn't stop), I ended up gazing up in awe of the large white building in front of me. The square just appears without warning and a building so grandiose was not expected. Buildings are always pretty in Belgium especially in the city centers. The cute little buildings all stuck together in rows all have unique and beautiful gables and roof lines. They're usually dated from the 1600's or 1700's. I still appreciate it, but it's becoming a bit common. So walking past these was nice and charming, but didn't grab me. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, this large white overly detailed, Brussels-esque building just jumped out at us and my camera reacted by taking a flurry of photos. The building is the city government building and has flags hanging in front from the states in Belgium. Stone carvings cover the building and under each larger statue are 6 more little men below.

We were all hungry, so we looked for a place and ended up going into Quasimodo's Notre Dame. It served typical food... pasta dishes and croquettes. Laura ordered three Croquette Monsieur which is the very elegant way of asking for three grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. And, they showed up, to my disappointment, looking just like any grilled ham and cheese sandwich that I could get at Denny's or any other boring American average-food chain. Arianna and Tiara ordered a very nice spaghetti bolognese - extremely popular in both Holland and Belgium. Luci had chicken and fries that she dipped in applesauce. And, Kirk and I both had an amazing salmon and spinach lasagna. Now, THAT was something special with large square green lasagna sheets layers with a gooey spinach cheese filling and two large salmon steaks sitting on top. YUM!

Walking off lunch was fun. We went through the church where they were selling beautiful olive wood figures from Israel that smelled strongly of olives. Then we walked into the shopping district past beautiful window displays in cute little shops that were way out-of-my-league as far as prices are concerned. Far away at the end of the street was a beautiful white tower - the train station. We didn't get there because it was too far for the kids to walk, but it looked impressive.

Turning right down another street we ran into another large square facing an impressive building. This is the square where the Christmas market is held. The first thing that Tiara noticed was the big bug. It dangled helplessly belly up stabbed through the end of a large sewing needle in the center of the square. The kids loved it. Arianna could almost fit through the eye of the needle. All the kids used the eye as a foothold to stand up on it. Tiara instigated a spirited game of tag and all the kids, including Marlene (Frank and Laura's daughter), ran their wiggles out around and around the buggy sewing needle.

Here is the square, the beautiful building, and off on the right, the really big bug. Could be a fly, could be a beetle, either way, I don't want it in my house. You gotta love the contrast here... beautiful building hundreds of years old, and a really big insect. They fit rather nicely together, don't you think? And... below are my crazy girls... three of them, at least. Elise was in the stroller, tired and a bit cranky.

Walking back, someone passed by with an ice cream cone which of course, put that idea in our heads. Then we just happened to cross the street right at a nice little ice cream and waffle shop. A lot of little sweet shops here are just store fronts with no actual seating inside, so you order it right in front at the counter, then join the little groups of people standing around eating together outside. The ice creams were special. The chocolate orange had big chunks of orange marmalade filled chocolate covered cookies in it and orange sauce drizzled on top. The tiramisu had beautiful whole lady fingers in it. I had the mocha and it was perfect.

The market was just beginning to get packed up as we walked back through, so I sadly missed the escargot guy for the photo op. He'd had big white bowls filled with various types of uncooked snails. Yuck. I love the French influence on the bakeries, but the snails? Not so much. Kirk offered to buy me flowers. The flower shops are very artistic putting together very elaborate combinations. I didn't want to have them on the drive home, so I didn't buy any, but we did look at them a while. There were some pie pumpkin sized fuzzy pink blooms with sage centers and several others I'd never seen before. The sunflowers are in season now too, so there were a lot of those. Laura stopped at the quiche stand. We got Brazil nuts and sampled some olives and garlic. It would have been nice to have lunch at the market, sampling little things here and there as we walked along. The fruit stand had fresh figs, really big mangos, and a few other fruits that I couldn't identify.

Walking back to our car after a day with the Kohlenbergers is always a bit sad. They are such great people and we'd like to visit more often. This season is full of celebrations though, so we hope to see them a bit more.

A side note: Last week when I was driving down to Spangdahlem, my friend asked if we were in Germany or Belgium (not a strange question as we do cross the border a couple times on the way). I answered that we were in Belgium because the modern lights were still alongside the autobahn. My friend, Maria, told us that the Belgian autobahns are completely lit even in the most remote places because they don't pay their electricity for the autobahn lighting. Apparently, Germany still pays for Belgian autobahn light electricty as a payment for WW2.

Sometimes shopping is just a good excuse for a little adventure, so although I would not normally drive two hours just to go shopping, a big shopping bazaar at the Spangdahlem Air Force Base was too tempting to pass up. On Friday I picked up a couple friends and strapped in my two youngest and we took off for a day of shopping! The drive to Spang is easy being almost entirely autobahn, and it is beautiful going through the green rolling hills in Belgium. My 4th time through there, it still bugs me that I can't pull over and take pictures. It is so pretty.

We got to the base just after noon, parked easily, and went through the security tent where we showed our ID cards and got our hands stamped. One of my Spanish friends, Maria, came with her two kids since it was open to NATO ID holders as well. Two large hangers were filled to capacity with venders selling items from all over Europe: German Nutcrackers and Dolls, Bavarian dresses and lederhosen, Italian Murano glass, Polish pottery and wood crafts, antiques, candy, wines, leather, Norwegian wool sweaters, Peruvian alpaca, paintings, Italian pottery, Austalian tiles, and more. There was almost too much to see, but the variety was nice. Prices seemed a bit high to me on some things, especially on antiques. After being in Tongeren, I knew very well how overpriced many antique items at the bazaar were - some quadruple the prices I saw in Tongeren for items of lesser quality.

The Belgian tapestries were gorgeous. They really are quite special and in so many different colors and designs. A bit pricey there, I'll shop with my friend, Sissel, who sells them at the bazaar here. I ended up getting a gift for each of the girls and for Kirk - all things that were unique and special from here and for me, I got a lovely alpaca hat/scarf from Peru. The scarf is made in a tube, so when you tuck one end into itself, you can wear it as a hat, then wind the rest around your neck as a scarf. It is really clever, warm, and looked great. After being so cold last winter, I will not let this one begin unprepared.

Maria enjoyed looking around. She had never been on that base before and her kids were surprised at how big and modern it was. I'd never thought of it as beautiful, but those are the type of words that I heard from my Spanish friends. It is bigger than our little base here at GK. We shopped and ate at the venders there. Maria had never seen American money. It was kind of fun to show this "little America" to her and her kids. We went to the BX and Burger King on the way home - not the food I would have liked, but all the kids were tired and getting antsy. I think the free soda refills were impressive enough to make up for average fast food. Free refills do not happen anywhere here and water is never free. You do not get ice, nor tap water. Every beverage and ever refill costs. So, never-ending free refills at Burger King were kind of fun - for all of us.

You know you've met someone special when you can invite them over for an impromptu coffee before either of you have showered and you're both wearing sweats and the house is a mess... and she comes right over without the least hesitation and sits and visits for over an hour and you don't feel the least bit awkward that you can see three cheerios on the floor peaking out from under the armoir. That was my morning and it was wonderful. Good friends and coffee... can't get better than that.

Each day there is some beautiful thing that gets my attention. Today on a drive, it was the sky. The weather is crisply autumn and the skies are a deeper blue and up ahead of me as I drove, contrail lines striped the sky like a man's collared shirt. Five or six planes must have passed that way leaving an unusal number of stripes in the sky - all together in parallel. It really was pretty and I was happy to notice it. I think God put those stripes there on purpose to distract me today because while I was in serene bliss distracted by the beauty in the sky, I had, in the back of my mind, the horrifying realization of the decible difference of two children screaming when moved from the third row of seats to the second row. At first it started out with loud cackles coming from Elise that while shocking in volume, made me laugh in return. Luci's laugh also brought a smile to my face and contributed to the scenery... but then the laughs turned into happy, but raucous shouts and screams. Ouch. My head was throbbing and my patience waning. That is when the clouds became my forced escape - either focus on the clouds or lose my mind. Friday I'm taking them to Spangdahlem. They'll definitely be sitting in the back seat.

I was folding laundry and I could hear it coming a kilometer away... there's a steady roar... and then it flies by. When we first moved here Kirk heard that sound one morning and said, "there goes a C-140." It wasn't an airplane. It was a big tractor. On Saturday morning I saw about 10 of these trucks go by in an hour. Most of them are even bigger and all are heaped with sugar beets. They use both beet and grape sugars here instead of cane sugar and they have a slightly different taste. Tante Tinny tells me to eat grape sugar every time I'm not feeling well. Supposedly it is very healthy, but I haven't tried it yet.

The sugar beets are huge and roll off the trucks as they go by. We know not to drive too closely behind them because those beets could do some damage to a car. Even running into them on the road gives you a bit of a jolt.

In most of the fields now the piles of beets are getting bigger. I saw a harvester yesterday plowing down the green leafy plants and throwing up large brown tubers into the bin in back. The weather isn't cold yet, but it's cooled down enough where these beet piles will last a good month or longer just sitting out there in the field before they haul them away.

Just before you get to the base in Schinnen, there's a big factory on the right that makes apple juice, yogurts, and other things. This is their big production season with so many apples and sugar beets harvested. When I drove by last week I took these pictures. Their back lot was piled high with several varieties of apples and two big piles of brown beets. A few days ago I drove by there again and the piles were even bigger. When I rolled down my window the sweet smell of apples blew into the van. The factory has tours... that might be a fun activity for the kids one of these days.

A side note: We're used to big tractors and trucks here. After all, we do live in farm country. I like it and find it interesting most of the time. Other than large uddered cows for cheese, all the obvious crops are of the produce variety and make the scenery quite pretty with the various shades of green. But... Monday when Tiara and I were driving back from ballet, she and I both caught sight of a large truck coming into the roundabout ahead of us. It was heaped full, but not with sugar beets. We looked, and looked, making sure we both saw what we thought we saw. Then Tiara broke the silence and asked, "what's in that truck." My reluctant response was: "bones." White and red. Gross.

Luci's been off of school this week for fall break. Fall break here, unlike the 2 days off in the U.S., is a bit longer.The German schools get two weeks off. The Dutch and Americans get one week. It would be a great time to take a vacation IF the kids all had the same fall break... but they don't. This week Luci is off, but next week when she's back in school, Tiara will be off of dance, then the week after that both Tiara and Arianna will have fall break from their school. I may keep Luci out a couple of those days so I can sleep in (sleep in??? Did I actually type that??? No... not sleep in, uh, um, take a field trip... yeah... that's it!). Kirk will be working, so we won't do any BIG trips, but I'm sure we'll do a few girl outings... just the little dance troup and I.
Feeling guilty for being indoors on a beautiful blue-skied autumn day, we took a nice walk on Monday to our village vegetable stand to check out their incredible pumpkin selection. Yeah, I'd just been to a different one the day before, but Luci wasn't with us then and she needed the outing. More importantly, she needed to walk. The child, while exhuberant and energetic at home, hates walking and whines after only a few feet. I'm trying to train her feet to move down the sidewalk in a smooth manner and her face to smile while doing so. Today I was successful in getting her all the way to the vegetable stand without once being carried or riding in the wagon. The smile wasn't there, but it will come. I'll make a walker out of her yet.

Our stand is phenomenal! It spills out of the big arched doorway from the courtyard within. One little door leads to the home where the owners live. Another little door leads to a "closet" where they keep a few veggies, the eggs, and local honey. The entire courtyard was lined thickly with piles and piles of pumpkins and other types of squash. It was so beautiful. Martha would have a hay day there with a couple of her staff photographers. A couple of my American friends showed up there too and we were like children in a candy store looking at all the cute shapes and pretty colors. Luci picked out a lot of little ones, so we'll make pumpkin vases for the teachers next week. Elise spent most of the time in the wagon, observing, but not asking to get out and peruse which is unlike her. Still, towards the end I was able to coax her out and she liked touching the cold pumpkins. Here and there, peeking out from the pumpkin piles and hanging from the walls were these little witches that looked more like someone's grandmother than a scary thing. Burlap kites in fall colors hung from the walls too.

After we got our pumpkins I went to the Greune Warehause to look around. The place is great. You can get plants, toy tractors, boots, sesame seeds, and baking pans all in the same location! It smells like grain and the people who work there are very nice. We got a few big leaf decorations for our window. I'll post pictures when I figure out how to actually keep them up there. They are "fall" leaves and have done very well at "falling" down everytime I put them up.

That evening Tiara had ballet class and I had the little ones with me, so they all got muffins at Bagels & Beans, then we took a nice leisurely walk back to Tiara's ballet studio taking time to cluck at every chicken, baa at every sheep, and inspect ever tree for holes where the little goblins live. Arianna and Luci called out, "hello, little goblin, are you in there?" Walking down the narrow stairway back to the street we passed this spot of wall where this little striped snail lived. He's really a pretty little guy living in an unlikely spot. The little three and I all stood watching him for a minute. Arianna wanted to take him home.