November 9, 2004--We had our first snow of the winter. Only a fourth of an inch was forecast, but we got three inches! The fun part was that the boys didn't have school. The first quarter had ended, so it was the day for teacher conferences.
I wasn't mentally prepared to drive in snow yet, but I love to walk in snow. So I had the bright idea to walk to Timothy's teacher's conference at 9:30. Unfortunately, I only allowed enough time to walk to the library, which is only half as far away as the Middle School, on the other end of the base. I ended up walking as fast as I could for 45 minutes, through the snow, uphill. I also dressed too warmly. It was barely below freezing, and working so hard I warmed up quickly.
So when I finally made it to the conference, I got into the warm classroom and got warmer and warmer, my face turning redder and redder. Oh well!
The walk back was much nicer. I stopped at a friend's house on base, then took a leisurely stroll home. In that direction, it's downhill. The German gate guards had made a snowman who was saluting the cars, complete with a military hat. It was great packing.
When I got home, I was completely exhausted. All the same, I made the boys quit watching TV and get outside. I told them to first build a snowman together, and then they could have a snowball fight. I got some fun action shots of them, which are posted below.
The snow melted away within a couple of days, and we haven't had any more. All the same, it was a fun start to the winter season!
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Sunday, November 21, 2004
MARIA LAACH ABBEY
November 7, 2004--We decided to do a last day of sight-seeing while the good weather held out. We chose a place in the Germany Eyewitness Guide in our area, Maria Laach Abbey on the Laacher See.
We ended up having spectacular weather for our trip. Along the way, we learned that even vineyards change color in the autumn--hillsides of grapevines were bright yellow, while other hillsides were the normal jewel-like green. Other hillsides had trees with oranges and yellows.
The abbey was a pretty Romanesque building. Besides getting to see inside the church, we had a walk through the lovely autumn woods to a nature museum. The museum was big on lizards and stuffed dead animals, so I didn't find it thrilling, but the walk through the woods was worth it. They also had some nice shops, one with books and stationery, and another with produce and some lovely teas. I discovered a ginger tea (Ingwer) that I just love.
When we finished up, we went down by the lake to enjoy the view in the setting sun. All in all, it made a nice outing, and a good excuse to drag our boys away from the TV and out into the beautiful autumn world. That night had our first frost of the year, so we were glad we had enjoyed one of the last lovely warm days.
We ended up having spectacular weather for our trip. Along the way, we learned that even vineyards change color in the autumn--hillsides of grapevines were bright yellow, while other hillsides were the normal jewel-like green. Other hillsides had trees with oranges and yellows.
The abbey was a pretty Romanesque building. Besides getting to see inside the church, we had a walk through the lovely autumn woods to a nature museum. The museum was big on lizards and stuffed dead animals, so I didn't find it thrilling, but the walk through the woods was worth it. They also had some nice shops, one with books and stationery, and another with produce and some lovely teas. I discovered a ginger tea (Ingwer) that I just love.
When we finished up, we went down by the lake to enjoy the view in the setting sun. All in all, it made a nice outing, and a good excuse to drag our boys away from the TV and out into the beautiful autumn world. That night had our first frost of the year, so we were glad we had enjoyed one of the last lovely warm days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)