Easter Season

Well, I got the word Saturday that I am not abstaining from the daily phone calls to Germany so I decided to give up 'PennyTalk' for Lent.  I also learned I cannot send Meg 'hybrid' tomatoe seeds cuz those are genetically engineered (or altered) so I am looking for 'heirloom' tomatoe seeds. Whatever happened to "Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth!"

Ron and I went out to brunch yesterday (My Valentine!) at a place here called "Misty's"  We sat at the counter and both spoke about the last time we ever did that...My experience was with Aunt Marie (after a ride in her pink Cadillac) and Uncle Pooh-Pooh in the "60's at Bridgeman's in Duluth and he remembered Woolsworth's here in Rapids about the same time.  (Did Jupiter's in Duluth have a Soda Fountain?  This was the place where Aunt Marie got all her Christmas presents and always managed to leave the 99 cent price tags on...But I think she put them in Bagley boxes (Marshall Field's Boxes... thanx La!) more often than not.  Wow...was that a "Blast from the Past")

Back to the (breakfast) counter @ Misty's... we spoke of planned Lenten sacrifices and I blew him away! I won't write what mine are until after Easter becuz 'It' will be interesting to see if 'we' can keep our promises without boring you all. . .(just in case anyone ever reads these ramblings.)

More Snow today but just a "trace".  I think I hate the word "trace."  Three inches is a 'trace tough' for Yo-Yo... four inch inch legs:

And impossible if Flying Squirrels

 didn't fly!

Well this is it from "Yours truly tonight."  It is on to pick up the man cuz I drove today, mail a care package to Germany cuz I can't be expected to go "Cold Turkey" from all communication with my girls.

Here is to FAT TUESDAY TOMORROW! 

Eat, Drink and Be Merry cuz Wednesday is Ashes

TSCHUS!

Olympic Saturday.

Watched the Vancouver (opening) Olympic Ceremony last night and it was amazing,  Ron had offered to take me to dinner and I got a "rain-check" and  we watched the tube.  I was told scalped tickets for this event were going for $8,000.00.  TV was FREE... How did they get those whales to swim across the field?  I did share a bottle of wine with my date so maybe I was inebriated!)

Well the last time we saw Chicago's Greg he gave us a list of  movies which are:
Greg's Top Ten of the 2000's 
(He may be in grad school but he is still the "Authority" on what to put in the NETFLIX  Q.)
1. Before Sunset
2. North Country for Old Men
3. There Will be Blood
4. The Royal Tenebaums
5. Million Dollar Baby
6. You Can Count on Me
8. Sideways
9. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
10. Inglorious Basterds
RON WAS REALLY PLEASE ABOUT 'SIDEWAYS' GETTING THEE NOMINATION AND I got to write in 'The Secret of Roan Inish' (mindful this was last century.)

Yesterday I amazed myself (and as Ron is always hungry, him too) with a scratch-batch of French Onion Soup! I got my kitchen kinda cleaned (it is never perfect) and after I delivered a "Thank You"  for the great Thursday dinner which we were privileged to be guests of; I made onion porridge.

AND since tomorrow is VD..."Let Mine & Your Love Lights Shine."

I also connected with Meg..."God Bless her little Irish heart and all her other little "now German" parts! She is sounding like she can wait to get her practice started becuz she is assimilating to life.  (Gretchen has told me Meg has signed up for German language classes.)

Reference to Meg's Blog:..Ron didn't have a clue that I gave her his Garmin.  But it was in his Toyota Tundra in MSP (Minneapolis) and when it crashes at high speeds it won't work anyway...and either will the other Toyotas which we hold so dear 'n near.  This will give me an ease into the conversation as he doesn't know he also bought  her the European chip for 'his' Garmin.

Meg did get her two apartment house in Germany... I think it is in Kusel.  She took the whole thing and explained to me it is for us all to visit.  She has a separate apartment for you and I.  That's right.  AMAZING!  She wants company! (Even parents)

I got a "PennyTalk" account when Gretchen went to Germany but I never used it (Meg did to call her sister) becuz  "Skype" is free.  Anyway it is really cheap to call...like 2 cents a minute with a 49 cent connection fee.  Trick I learned is don't go to voice mail if you can help it.

Well, I am off to buy the kid some vegetable seeds cuz she wants to start hybrid tomatoes in her soon to be backyard garden. (See the picture on her Blog)  I have some giant pumpkin seeds.  She will be the hit of Kusel with a 1400 pound Giant Pumpkin from Wisconsin.  Elsie and Tyson can water the pumpkin and hopefully not the tomatoes.

Tschus.

Sounds Like Everyone is settling

Spent some time in the windy city.  Greg and Annelise joined us for a couple dinners, a stroll or two down (up) the Miracle Mile saw the fireworks which featured dancing snowmen in 3-D...Hamborger, hamborger, hamborger, no fries...chiips! and my Valentine's Day present was something.   Won't disclose as I wouldn't want you all to be GREEN. 

Of course there was the part of the adventure where I turned green from the 247 tower stairs to the Tower of  Bells after Sunday's service.  It was my less than bright suggestion ("TOWER?") and I frankly think I was "hallucinating." I forgot I hate heights, claustrophobic spaces and loud clanging bells all in the same space.  Actually,  I  was only ever once before scared this much! Flashback years ago after my free fall down the water slide on the Tower of  Doom. Again I couldn't walk for hours afterward. Everyone said it was great exercise on Sunday.  I called it 'a great exorcise.' 
Needles to say Ron drove home from Chicago and I decompressed.  Got to watch the second half of the Super Bowl. (MJK's team won.)  Brought in Crispy Duck and Hot and Sour Soup. Day ended nice enuf.

Guess at this time Meg has probably got a German Driver's license.  It is maybe a little early (7:30 a.m. in Deustchland) but I am Blogging so I can make up details, even if the details have no pertinence to the reality of every day living.

Guess it is fine time to go to sleep. Hope tomorrow works out better than today as far as real estate goes.  There are some real pin-head sellers out there who do not know about the wor(l)d "recession."

Meg Made It!

With Tyson. the shitzu in cargo; and L.C., the other pup; under the seat Meg flew to Frankfort on Monday night-Tuesday morning to join Gretchen (and Josh) in Baumholder, Germany for the next two years. I was the sadest about the whole thing but I will survive.  Tyson was probably the most stressed and he survived too.  Meg jumped through hoops to get all the paper work together on the dogs and I was told the German customs hardly looked at the forms.  Getting the acceptance on her car in Pontoon Bay, Illinois was the most "red tape."  If the 570 mile drive to deliver the car was a "living nightmare."  which gave us no extra time to relax or use cruise control with the blowing snow, zero visibility, closing of interstates and speed-crazed semi's from hell... then having to have the gas tank drained to under one quarter of a tank did prove most challenging.  Hopefully her household goods and car will soon join her.  Both the girls are now living in Germany...Yikes that's a long way to travel.

It is still the cold of winter in central Wisconsin.  But apparently the fly squirrels don't know it as they are out inforce every evening.  Have to reread the hibernation tendencies of the species homio-status squirrel hibernatious!