November is Over

Fall is disappearing faster than the leaves from the trees, it seems.
I'm already assembling things to give for giftmas, and thinking about Solstice parties and possible Ski/Snowboarding vacations we can take around the holiday.

I've been domestically busy lately, even though we haven't gotten out of the house much because of the dismal, rainy weather. I hope December is dryer.

I started substitute teaching the day before Thanksgiving, which was not as bad as it could have been, but still a bit stressful. I need to start trying to be up and showered by 7:30 in case I get a call to come in. I am not a morning person, and I need a lot of sleep so I am not really looking forward to this.
Usually they try to give you a few days notice, but that's not possible if someone is sick.
I'm thinking I should look into getting a sun-light, to help me get up on dark days and to brighten my mood throughout the winter. Unfortunately the good ones are fairly expensive, and it's kindof a low priority.

I've been doing a lot of cooking and baking lately, in honor of the changing seasons and Thanksgiving. The weekend before Thanksgiving we had our big feast, and Meghan and Stefan were able to come up from Munich to spend it with us! We also had our friend Chris from Frankfurt here (who I know from DC), so it was really great to be able to share our first holiday away from Baltimore with friends we knew from back home.
I spend Friday baking, so the oven would be free for the Turkey on Saturday. Here's the spread!

Herb Butter Roast Turkey with Brandy Gravy


The sides: Green Bean Casserole, Corn Pudding, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Kabocha squash with cranberries and pecans, Apple and sausage stuffing, and homemade cranberry orange sauce.

YUM!


And last but not least, Dessert!
Apple pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Peanut Butter Kiss cookies, which were a big hit!

Our Guests!

Here's Meghan playing Rockband


On Thanksgiving itself we went to Joe's squadron's potluck. We had been to one the previous week as well.

I've been doing a lot of knitting as well as spinning lately, this fall I have finished two pairs of socks, a clapotis I started years ago, some fingerless mitts, a Nimbus sweater, and I'm on the home stretch of a second sweater, Amused, from Knitty.com!
Here's the socks (a gift for my Mom's B-day) and the sweater for me. I'll post about the Amused sweater later.

Nimbus, a free pattern from Berroco


The pattern calls for a bulky yarn on size 11 needles. I wanted to use some DK 100% alpaca I had, so I doubled it and used size 10 needles, which gave me a gauge of 16 st and 19 rows in 4". I used the stitch counts for the 48" size to adjust the gauge, and the measurements of the 36 inch size. I wet blocked all pieces to size before seaming.
I also tacked down the collar to keep it from rolling up.


I'm very happy with it, it fits well and it very comfy! Only drawback is the 100% alpaca makes it a VERY HEAVY sweater, both in weight and in warmth. The short sleeves and length though make it more versatile.

Here's the Shadow Rib Two-at-a-time toe-up socks with Afterthought heels I made for my Mom! Using Blue Ridge Yarns Kaleidoscope Superwash Sock Yarn, in Wild Cherry. Loved the yarn, hated the color, but she picked it out.
When I do toe-up socks again, if I’m not making the heels and toes in a different yarn I will use a short row heel, as I had to take a guess when to stop for the leg because I needed to leave enough yarn to do the toes.


Here's what I'm spinning! More Gale's Art Merino. 2-ply, light worsted weight



And here's what's on the wheel, Gale's Art Merino in Orchid



This week I hope to drag Joe out of the house to go to the annual Wiesbaden "Shining Star Market", a Christmas market, and tonight I'm going out to dinner with a friend and to see "The Full Monty" at the English theater in Frankfurt!

It's November!

Where the hell did October go? It feels like it was October for like a week, then gone! We were totally unprepared for Halloween this year. No pumpkins or gourds or other fall decorations, didn't pull out the pumpkin baskets, the Halloween lights, nothing! I found myself running back from the store with the only candy I could find (Hershey Kisses) expecting to find mobs of Trick-or-Treaters at our door... but apparently they don't let the kids in the buildings so they have Trick-or-Treat BBQs outside. Weird. And now I have a ton of extra chocolate. Just what I need!

Halloween night we did have friends over for dinner, and then we drove out into the middle of nowhere to an old monastery where they were having a Halloween/Goth night. I was lazy and decided to wear my bumblebee costume from last year, which was pretty funny because everyone else there was in scary or gothy costumes, so I kindof stood out :P But it was fun to hang out with friends and drink hot spiced wine and dance.

Because we had friends coming over we finally got the house all set up (well, 90%)!
A friend and I also went to Ikea yesterday to get a rug for the office, a replacement spice rack since the movers lost mine, and I picked up a new blanket for the couch and a few houseplants.
I don't have pictures of the bedroom and office yet, but here is the living/dining/kitchen area! Click on any one of these to go to the Flickr page and see them fullsize:






And the view from the kitchen window: (Ignore the scaffolding, they were fixing the roof)


I've also been spinning up a storm lately!
Here's the finished Black/Pink/White merino, about worsted weight 240 meters or so. Sold to a friend, since it doesn't go with any of my coats.


And I had some lovely Romney that a friend in Baltimore had dyed, but I didn't know what to do with since Romney is very scratchy (To me, anyway), but I've been admiring all the pretty tea cozies on Ravelry lately, and thought it would be a perfect use for it! I Navajo plied it to keep the colors clean.





Not much else new is going on. I'm interviewing to be a substitute teacher this week, so I hope to work at least a few days before xmas to have some money for gifts!

We're having friends over for Thanksgiving, which should be nice. It will be our first time ever hosting Thanksgiving dinner! I am nervous about roasting a whole turkey. Maybe we will just do a breast, since it should be 5 people. I'm glad we can get my favorite Kabocha squash here!

October!

I love October :) With the crisp fall air, turning leaves, pumpkins, and of course sweaters! Last week was spent studying for my German final, finishing up some yarn, and putting all my stuff in it's new proper places. Almost done. This week I plan to apply to start Substitute Teaching! And our car should be here tomorrow!

I love pumpkin. I bought a big can of pumpkin at the store to make pumpkin bread last week, but that only used one cup (they only had the big can), so I've been eating pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin pancakes, and I make pumpkin cookies with the last of it the other day.



I also made a wonderful Sweet Potato Chili, but I adjusted the recipe to use canned Chipotle chilis, beef broth instead of water, and a large splash of orange juice to bring out the flavor of the sweet potato. And I added corn.

First time using the Le Creuset Dutch Oven we got from my mom for our wedding! I LOVE this pot!


We've been very busy trying to put away all our stuff away! Here's what it looked like at the end of the first day, in the dining room, and in my office.



It's almost done now, but still we need to hang the artwork and clean a bit more.

When I received my wheel without anything to spin, a local shepherdess from down the Rhine offered to send me some of her sheeps' fleece to spin as a welcome gift! I love getting to try out new sheep breeds, so I was very excited about this, and was expecting some cleaned locks.
Well, the package arrived the other day and included much more than I expected! In addition to a big ball of carded grey roving from her sheep, she also sent a large cream/beige batt of alpaca silk, some dyed wool pencil roving, and 4oz of gorgeous hand dyed merino top!
The Merino, plus the singles I am working on:



The bag of wonderful fluff! Gray sheep at the top, alpaca on the left:


They gray is going to become yarn for these awesome Prairie Boot Slippers (ravelry link)

I also finished plying the chartreuse merino silk I was working on, and also the merino soy-silk that my friend so graciously gave me to spin up for her while I waited for my stash to get here:


Wicked Witch Merino Soy-SIlk

Amazing Steampunk Bugs!

These are amazing, and I really wish I had $1400 lying around to purchase one!
"Borrowing from science fiction and fact, Insect Lab customizes real insect specimens with antique watch parts and other technological components. From ladybugs to grasshoppers, each is individually hand adorned, a unique celebration of the contradictions and confluences between nature and technology."
http://www.insectlabstudio.com/

Also, I want this. I'm obsessed with Cicadas. From here: http://www.lunaparc.com/insect-pages/cicada.htm Their site is kindof disgusting though.

Munich, and our first Oktoberfest!

J and I have had a busy few weeks since my last post. We've been to visit Frankfurt, down to Munich for our first Oktoberfest, and yesterday we received our Household Goods shipment!

I haven't been able to post any of my new pictures until now because for some reason my computer does not want to connect to the LAN (but it likes the wireless fine).

Munich was wonderful! We drove down after German class last Wednesday (about a 4-5 hour drive) and arrived around 8:30. Unfortunately we spent another 45 minutes looking for parking, because the neighborhood that Meghan lives in is within walking distance to Oktoberfest, and it was full to the brim! We finally got lucky, and went to say our hellos.

I hadn't seen Meghan since I came back from Japan in 2005, and then it was only for dinner while we were both passing through Seattle, so it was really great to spend some time with her! We were roommates senior year of college, and had traveled Italy together previously.

We were famished, so we took the dog and walked to a nearby restaurant where I had some delicious German-equivalent of Mac and Cheese: KaseSpatzle with fried onions. YUM and beer, of course.

The next day Meghan and her bf Stefan had to work, so J and I borrowed their bikes and took a short tour of the city!
We saw the town hall, with it's famous Glockenspiele, the pedestrian shopping district, a wonderful spice shop, some traditional gift and Dirndl shops. We also found a yarn shop!

Click any picture to visit the whole Flickr set, I hate how the blog cuts off the right side of the photo!
The Town Hall

Glockenspiele


Blooming Artichokes


The Palace Gardens


The yarn and spices I bought (hard-to-find Sezschuan Peppercorns, and a Sweinebraten spice mix), and a wedding gift from Meghan of a Bavarian cookbook!


That evening Meghan and Stefan got all dressed up in their traditional garb and we went to Oktoberfest! I had no idea that everyone dresses up for this! You can tell the tourists by their modern clothes and their stupid Oktoberfest hats. I will definitely be buying myself a Dirndl for next year, one that I can also wear to Renaissance Faires when we get back. J and I rode through it on our bikes that afternoon, before coming back to do some eating and drinking later.

Oktoberfest is now more of an amusement park than anything else. Of course a large section of it is covered in giant beer halls, and there is wonderful food being sold everywhere, but that part is kindof dwarfed by the roller coaster and giant ferris wheel.

Giant animatronic lion on the Lowenbrau tent


Guys in their Lederhosen, who need to pull up their socks


Also interesting was that cabled sweaters and vests are traditional as well, and I saw more beautiful sweaters and handknit-looking socks than any knitter could ask for!



Meghan and Stefan, ready for Oktoberfest!


Yay! Pretzels, beer, bratwurst and Saurkraut!


J and I had DELICIOUS roast Ox and potato salad


And beer, of course!


Inside the Augustiner (A traditional Munich Brewery) Beer tent


PROST!


There was much drinking, eating, and standing on the benches singing along with the band! A good time was had by all :)


The next day, Meghan and I decided to walk off some of that beer with a nice long walk with the dog through the forest and along the river.
Munich (and most German cities I've visited so far) are nice in that they include many forested parks or other communal natural spaces for people to walk or bike in.

With their dog, Corina.



I love this house!




Our last full day in Munich Meghan, J and I drove down to the beginning of the Alps, where the famous Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castles are. The beautiful flat farmland abruptly ends where the mountains start.
We visited both the lived-in Castle of Hohenschwangau, and Crazy King Ludwig's "Disney Castle" as it's derogatorily known, but we didn't go inside, just hiked around the castles and the surrounding hills and to the lake, before taking a Goldola ride up a nearby mountain to watch the Paragliding/Hanggliding conventioners show off their stuff! They ride the gondola up and then jump right off the side of the mountain to glide over the flat farmland 900 meters below. We were lucky enough to be there the same weekend as Free Flight Tegelberg, the biggest Paragliding festival in Germany!







You could rent little boats to go on the lake. Gorgeous teal water!


Unfortunately, Neuschwanstein castle was covered in scaffolding on the best side to view it :(


Looks kinda like home!


You can see how it goes from mountains immediately to flat farmland


I love these hats! They look stupid on me though :(






This kind takes off from the ground


Up we go!


A Hang Glider ready for takeoff!


After some cake, coffee, and watching people jump off the cliff for a while, we went back down the mountain and rode the Luge Sled! A tow line drags your sled to the top and you zoom down a twisty, metal luge run! Totally worth the 2 Euro.


Dusk





J and I enjoyed capturing a truly phenomenal sunset!


Dont forget to visit the flickr page to see ALL the photos from this trip! Just click on a picture to be taken to the set.

Frankfurt, and the Zoo

Our day trip to Frankfurt, which is about half an hour away, was on a beautiful fall Saturday, and we had left early enough to hope to catch the weekly flea market that is held along the banks of the Main river. Unfortunately, it wasn't where the internet said it was, and we did not find it. So we went to the Zoo!

The Frankfurt zoo is fairly small, but they did have a fairly extensive collection of smaller animals, some of which I had never seen before! Including a ferret-like creature that lives in North America that I had never even heard of. Sorry I don't remember what it was called..

They also had an aquarium section, which I thought was different for a zoo, and a large section just for nocturnal creatures.

Here's the highlights! Click on any picture to visit the entire Flickr set.

Malaysian Sun Bear. Doesn't it look like a Sharpei?


Funny Mongoose thing. Sorry I didn't write down their names!




Flamingo!


J, none too happy to have his picture taken. Also, yummy CurryWurst (a bratwurst covered in curry ketchup and curry powder) and Frankfurt Apfelwein that tastes like oak-aged hard cider.


After the zoo we walked down Zeil street, the pedestrian shopping zone, and went in this amazing geodesic funnel-shaped mall! It was gorgeous! Here's a pic on the top floor:


This guy's job really sucks: Walking Bratwurst vendor


And here's the obligatory picture of Romerberg square!

Dissapointed and Anxious.

Joe and I stayed home today to wait for our "Unaccompanied Baggage" shipment of kitchen goods and my spinning wheel to arrive today, which it did around 10am.

After hanging the curtains, I pulled out my wheel and realized that I had forgotten to pack any spinning fiber in the basket. Great. Spinning wheel and nothing to spin! At least a local shepherdess has promised to send me some fleece as a welcome present soon.

We started unpacking the boxes and putting things away, and when we were getting to the bottom we realized that we were still missing stuff. A lot of stuff. An ENTIRE BOX OF STUFF.

THEY LOST A BOX WITH THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF OUR DISHWASHER, including:
My blue and white Japanese bowls
Most of our drinking glasses, including Joe's collection of pub pint glasses
A few pots
My jars of tea
ALL the silverware

The boxes are unmarked, and Joe is not hopeful that the lost box will be able to be found. I'm trying to be optimistic, as some of that stuff is irreplaceable. This discovery effectively took the wind out of our sails, and we have been moping around our now-cluttered apartment ever since.

Out of the Hotel!

We're in an apartment! We decided to take another look at the place on base that they were offering us, weighed the pros and cons of living in that apartment and living on base, and decided to take it!

It is much smaller than the house we are coming from, but we expected that. It has a nice new kitchen, dishwasher, washer/dryer, and lots of closets.
It does not have any outside living space, but it looks over a grassy park/playground area, and has good light and windows that can be opened. It is walking distance to the PX, the Commissary, and either of the schools I may be working at, so we can probably avoid buying a second car.
It is also walking distance to the train station and the downtown shopping area. It also has parking. So all in all we expect it to work out well for us :) I haven't lived in the same house for 3 years since moving out of my parents' house! Hope I don't get too bored of it!

No pictures for now because we don't have wireless internet yet, and I don't have my photos on Joe's computer.

Our "Short Shipment" of stuff is being delivered on Tuesday! In this shipment is our kitchen stuff (pots, pans, dishes, etc) and MY SPINNING WHEEL! I am very excited :)

German class is going well, but it is a bit slow for me and Joe, who have experience learning other languages. I got a 97% on my midterm.

We will have a landline phone soon and will be able to call the US for free! We do not yet have cell phones though, which is a little inconvenient. We were discouraged to learn that there are no All-of-Europe plans, only German plans.

Email me if you have questions!