Happy Thanksgiving!

Waking up this morning it was weird not being able to turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I have fond memories arriving to my grandparent's house early Thanksgiving Day and laying on the floor watching the parade.  Then after awhile my aunts, uncles, and cousins would trickle in over the next few hours.  My grandparents would set a table so long it would stretch into the the living room.  Everyone had their "spot" at the table.  Lefties on the corner, highchair at the other corner, and the dog whining underneath at my grandmother's feet.  After dinner everyone would retire to the living room, every seat and floor spot taken.  We would visit or watch family film strips.  Then came time for dessert and coffee.  We would have an assortment of pies to pick from; pecan, apple, chocolate, and my all time favorite, pumpkin.  One of the cousins would "take orders" and pass out the pie pieces.  There were some great times shared around the table and in my grandparent's house.

Usually 15 or more people would sit around this table.

Sometimes card tables past their prime were brought in for the "kid's table".

Today was a lot different.  As the years are coming and going new traditions and changes are taking place.  Today my husband and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving married.  We were sad to not be with our family crowded around a big table, but did have an enjoyable experience just the two of us.  I started the baking and cooking at 1:00 p.m. with the traditional pumpkin pie.  I knew canned pumpkin was not available in Germany so I packed a can into my suitcase back in July.  When it comes to pie, I think ahead!  Grandpa would be proud.

My pumpkin pie brought all the way over the ocean.

After awhile Husband was able to come home from work.  Together we made homemade green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, veggies, and a well herbed turkey.  Initially we were concerned about being able to have an American traditional Thanksgiving meal but with some improvising everything worked out well when it came to finding the ingredients. We learned how simple it is to actually make homemade green bean casserole. Since french fried onions are not available here, we sauteed onion in oil until crispy. Cream of Mushroom soup comes in a packet in Germany so we created our own with onions, mushrooms, butter, flour, and milk.  It was good and just as easy as the common recipe.  

Just so my husband and I knew where to "sit" at our table for 2!

Both of us enjoyed talking for a few minutes to our families.  It is hard to be away from them but I know we are fortunate to have the new experiences here in Germany.  Someday we will go back to large family meals at the grandparent's house.  New additions will lay on the floor watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and I will be in the kitchen making the green bean casserole.  Today I'm thankful for family, past and present, near and far. 

Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy 80th Birthday Gpa!

Homesick for...Kroger???

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I felt this was an appropriate entry with all the grocery shopping everyone has been encountering this week. 

I loved Saturday mornings in Texas.  My body would wake up way too early so I would spend time at the kitchen table creating my weekly menu, going over the grocery list, and reviewing my coupon selection.  Then in jeans and a fleece, with hair in a ponytail, I would head to my local Kroger.  This became one of my favorite parts of the week.  The roads were bare, the day fresh, and the store not yet overcrowded.

At Kroger I would get my shopping cart, carefully buckle my purse into the baby seat, and place my coupon file on top.  Then I would stop at the Starbucks coffee stand for a warm treat.  With my white chocolate mocha in hand, I would leisurely stroll the aisles crossing off my listed items using my bold felt tip pen.  This was time for me to relax and practice my mad math teacher skills.  It was like a game. "How much can I save on this item?"

My favorite part at the end of the transaction was when I would hand over my stack, hopefully, of coupons.  If I saved at least $20, I considered the grocery trip a success.  I think my mom received a few bragging calls in such occasions!  Afterwards, I would make small talk as the bag boy helped me load my car.  I enjoyed the friendly service and my visits were usually quite pleasant.

Here in Germany, grocery shopping is a bit different of an experience.  It is more like a marathon or a fight between life and death.

I get anxiety when I am due for a shopping trip.  Having only one car I shop several times a week instead of once.  It is about a 10 minute walk to the store so I take only one reusable bag.  This prevents me from buying too many items to drag home.

There are two grocery stores that I usually shop at depending on what items are on my list.  Aldi is great for affordable produce, meats, and basic pantry items.  AEZ is where I purchase name brands and milk.  Before going to Aldi sometimes I feel like I should stretch my muscles.  It is always an intense experience.

Inside Aldi the aisles are over crowded with hurried people.  You better move it or lose it.  There is not a fancy coffee stand just loud noises of the rush.  Much like a french fry grease clogged artery, the floor is packed with staff stocking shelves and carts whizzing around pushed by mad housewives.  You can hardly get through the place.

The check out lanes always contain people backed up into the produce section.  If you aren't watching, an aggressive retiree will try to sneak their way in line after not so indiscreetly picking up an avocado.  On the conveyor belt I always organize my items heaviest to lightest.  Meats first, then cheeses, followed by produce, and finally breads last.  While standing next to the conveyor belt, I get my money ready.  Pulling out your wallet and counting money takes too much time.  I always slip my ready cash into my jacket pocket for quick access.  

When it is my turn to check out, I better be ready.  At lightening fast speed the checker girl will fling my items across the scanner.  There is no time to follow the rings ups to check for errors because you better be bagging.  The girl is always done ringing my food before I can shove it all into my bag.  Then she stares at me impatiently until I hand over my money.

Hoping the change is correct, I stuff it into my pocket and quickly move out of the way.  At the door I reorganize my bag of groceries, throw it over my shoulder, and head on the walk home.  In and out as quick as a flash.

WHEW!

Despite the differences in customer service, we are saving a lot more money on groceries here in Germany.

Estimated Weekly Grocery Costs:
Kroger: 80 dollars
Aldi: 30 euros which is about 40 dollars

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  

Shelby Saves the Day

Our dog Shelby has been in Germany for less than a week and already we have gotten our moneys worth. And it was not cheap to fly her internationally but that is another post some other time.
Last night we went to bed with Shelby resting on her pillow next to our bed.  In the middle of the night I was awoken by noise in our apartment. Shelby was pacing back and forth between our bedroom, the hallway, and the living room.  The clicking our her pawnails on the laminate floor was so consistent it woke me from my sleep. Curious to see why Shelby was pacing the floor I got out of bed. In the hallway I found our Shelby standing in the living room illuminated by a glowing light. Two feet away from her I saw a candle left burning.  Halfway melted and inches away from Halloween garland, I'm not sure this story would have had a good ending if Shelby had not been pacing.
I'm not sure if she really knew the danger or if it was coincidence I woke up.  Labs are very smart dogs. Shelby probably notices our nightly routines of going to bed. Either way I am so thankful she woke us up.
From now on I'm going to have to go back to leaving myself a "Candle Lit" Post-It in places I will be reminded; doorknobs, toothbrush, bathroom mirror, etc.
What do you think? Did Shelby wake us on purpose or was it mainly sleep-apnea?

Oktoberfest Review

This year Husband and I visited Oktoberfest three times. Each visit was completely different.
1st Visit- On opening day we arrived at the Weisen around 10 a.m. to watch the opening ceremonies and parade. We luckily had a front viewing spot next to the beer tent where the Mayor of Munich tapped the first keg. The parade was filled with several Bavarian marching bands, horses dressed in their finest bells and flower garlands pulling old fashioned wagons with barrels of wooden kegs (Is there really beer in them? Anyone?), and then there were decorative floats carrying the mass drinking beer maids. I learned a beer maid can make up to 30,000Euros in just the two weeks of Oktoberfest. These girls carry sometimes 8 or more liter glasses of beer at once. Talk about power lifting! During the parade it started raining and we knew there was no chance we would get into a beer tent Opening Day. These tables have been reserved since January. After the parade, wet and cold, Husband and I started heading towards the exit. On our way we saw a back alleyway beside a coffee stand. Much to our surprise we saw a cozy warm, most importantly, dry tent. Husband and I hurried in from the rain and grabbed a small table. And this is how an Irish Coffee became our first ever drink at the World's Largest Beer Festival.

2nd Visit- Later that night Husband and I headed back to the Weisen to see what a sight it would be brightly lit from the rides and attractions. Rows and rows of rainbow flashing, chasing lights advertised the bumper cars, roller coasters, and tiny tick shows. A very cool sight. The not cool sight were the men laying face down in the grass on "pass out hill". Cops shining strob lights in drunk peoples eyes and bright yellow strechers wheeling people out in the midst of alcohol poisoning was not the best second impression of Oktoberfest. The good thing is this whole scene is kept at back of the Weisen. We only saw this because we turned down the back road. The other thing that grossed me out was the amount of trash and broken glass out on the streets. They definitely needed more clean up staff sweeping the streets. Still no beer this visit, just a giant chocolate waffer ball.

3rd Visit- Husband and his colleague, Benny, took off Thursday afternoon. This is normal to take off half a day of work to visit Oktoberfest. The three of us headed to the Weisen in hopes of finally getting into a beer tent. Husband and I were excited to have a true Bavarian show us newbies the Oktoberfest ropes. We spent the afternoon in the Spaten tent near the center in close view of the traditional Bavarian band stand. For lunch I had 1/4 chicken, potatoes, and chicken broth soup. I washed it down with Radler. This is a mix of Oktoberfest beer and lemonade. Everything was delicious and our waitress was awesome. We were joined at the table by two Englishmen and a newly married couple both just finishing their medical residency in Detroit. They now are spending a year traveling the world before beginning in the workplace. The couple behind us were visitors from Houston. All around we were in great company talking and singing along to songs like Sweet Home Alabama and Sweet Caroline. It was an amazing great time. The best part was nobody ended up on Passout Hill or with their head in a can at the train station. Just a good o' time by all. Hopefully next year I will be properly dressed in the traditional dirndl dress and Hubby in lederhosen!

So who is coming to visit us next Oktoberfest?

Fall in Love

Don't you just love fall? The sound of leaves crushing beneath my feet is a soundtrack only perfect for the changing seasons. There is something about crunching leaves, crisp autumn air, and harvest stands bulging in deep oranges, reds, and yellows that make me homesick. I'm not talking about 21st Century homesick, but 2 decades ago homesick. Circa 1992 small town, brown Wal-Mart, sneaking my mother's not so secret stash of candycorn, homesick.

In September my mother would start helping my brother and I put together a homemade costume. One afternoon I would come home from school and she would surprise me with a costume piece perfectly stiched or sewn with loving hands. When the entire ensemble was completed it was so hard to wait for Halloween night. "You'll get it dirty, you have to wait." My mother would say. The entire house would fill with excitement when the day would finally come that I would get to wear my new costume. A few of my favorite costumes was a pale tulle princess skirt, an Indian dress (before we were politically correct), and the classic plump pumpkin complete with a stump topper.

Someday I hope to put the same type of creativity and dedication into my own children's Halloween costumes. I will probably be crushed the day they beg for the plastic ninja outfit hanging in our local Wal-Mart.
What is your favorite fall tradition or memory?

Bad "Bath" Shopping

Friday Husband and I went to Ikea. First we stopped in the cafeteria for caffeine. Husband got coffee and I got a cappuccino, twice! Whahaha what a rush! I also ordered an amazing marzipan dessert that was pink and called princess something or rather. If you go to Ikea look for the round pink cake and try it...

We walked around and picked up some things we needed. After looking at rugs I picked up a red braided one with various shades of lime, turquoise, orange, and purple.  At first Husband did not like it because it was too bright. Later on he saw the other bathmats and hated those as well. Me too. A little bit later we were back in the rug department and then Husband said "Do you still like this rug?" I said yes and then he replied "Yeah, I don't mind it actually." Yippee! He trusts my taste.

With the new rug we headed to the fabric and curtain department. There we, okay mainly I, picked out matching material for curtains that I plan to no sew. Husband stood back holding our goods. When I asked him "Do you like this material?" or "How about this one?" he gave me his opinion. In the end, it only took five minutes, we both agreed on a fabric that will coordinate well with the bright rug. At home I taped the material into the window to see how it all looks together.

The undersink cabinet and medicine mirror we bought used (looks brand new) from a wealthy family for 40E. We have to wait for the drill out of the crate to complete everything. The good news is our crate is in Hamburg, Germany. The bad news is we still have to wait one to two weeks for the German customs to look through everything.

When we do finally have our stuff, Husband has to put up an L Track on the ceiling to hold two shower curtains. We want to get red ones. There is just so much white in there with the tiled walls. Currently we flood the floor with showering a little bit each time.

I think the bathroom looks cheerful and that it is slowly coming along. We actually had a lot of fun at Ikea picking stuff out together. You just gotta feed a man coffee and dessert before you drag them around a store picking out textiles.

Zwei Monate "Two Months"

Today marks two months living in Germany. I miss blogging so much and hate typing on my phone so I'm going to keep this short.

Top 10 Highlights of Month 2:
10. Free bookshelves
9. Free washing machine
8. Free patio furniture
7.Scrapbooking class
6.Attending Oktoberfest
5. Hiking in the Alps
4. Picking out paint
3. Signing my teaching contract
2. Visiting Oberhausen
1. Moving into our own space

The crate should arrive in a week and a half. Our new kitchen is being installed Oct.4th-5th which means I will be baking Reece's Pieces Banana Bread Oct.6th! Our internet connection is at the mercy of the provider and is tbd. Another difference between the States and the German ways. Less than 3 months until we are back on the other side for Christmas!