Category: Uncategorized (Page 33 of 40)
A couple days ago, Lisa turned 18! She can now vote (if she was home in Germany). Jeff was quick to point out she can also buy a lottery ticket now (but could she claim the winnings, or would she have to split those with her host family??).
We celebrated over a meal at The Berlin Inn, which is a small restaurant tucked away in SE Portland. It’s done up to be like a traditional Gasthöf.
We had an excellent Vorspeise (appetizer) of puff pastry (Blätterteig) stuffed with spinach and mushrooms. There were also lots of dishes featuring ginger-spiced pears (“Birne”). Ok, it was an odd menu, but I did like that you could choose lots of small dishes if desired. And a long menu, like a book. The entrees were a bit odd too. But let’s face it–I really chose this place for the rave reviews I had read about their baked goods–and in the back of my mind I kept remembering they sold take-and-bake strudels. And indeed, when it was time for dessert (“Nachtisch”), a huge tray of freshly baked pies and cakes was presented. There were about 15 choices! You can see us with our desserts above.
And yes I’ve got an apple strudel in the freezer, ready to pop in the oven on Christmas morning. (It’ll go great with the hot coffee/tea/chocolate drinks we can make in my new K-Cup coffee machine. Thanks to Jeff for the early Christmas present!)
Click here if you cannot see the embedded video below.
At the airport, D surprised us by taking to the moving walkways and escalators like a savvy business traveler. His Robot roller bag added to the image!
In school, Dashiell is learning about taking turns. You can see his progress in this game of Boo, Boo.
(It’s difficult to sneakily video him these days; he is so aware of the camera that there is an added element of “Look, Mom” in all the clips, now…)
Lisa’s mom sent 2 special packages to our house: they contained advent gifts–one for each day (and one for each child!). Each Geschenk (gift) is wrapped in a paper envelope with the day number written on it. They look so cute on our mantel!
Lisa and Dashiell opened December 1 yesterday. Lisa got a few chocolates and Dash got piece #1 from a zoo-themed Lego set featuring polar bears. Now it’s time to get the other Christmas things out.
Thanks Sybille, that was so sweet of you.
We had to show Lisa what Thanksgiving means in America: shopping and eating. And eating and shopping. So when we returned home to Portland, we did some more of both.
We also took a visit to the South Pole. Turns out it’s filled with escalators!
We braved the holiday crowds, flew 4 hours each way with a busy little guy, saw nearly every single family member possible, cooked a turkey, shopped on Black Friday and emerged unscathed! Thanks to Don and Lori for their patience with our young weary traveler (who put on quite a show, being Mr. Personality, but kept Mom and Dad on pins and needles with sleeping matters). Lisa was a big help–thank you to our girl!
On Wednesday, we had an exciting day at Grandma Beverly’s house and Dashiell got to meet his Great Grandma Pape (from whom he may get his blue eyes and curly hair, along with Grandma Sherry), and lots of other people he’d never met or didn’t remember. Thanks for your hospitality, Beverly. Thanks to Katie and Roger and Deanna for the sweet gifts for the boy!
Dashiell has no problem remembering any of his Grandmas. At Grandma Beverly’s house, he singled her out in a group photo on her fridge. He does this at home with Grandma Sherry. He loves all of his Grandmas! As we pulled out of town, Dash seemed to understand we were headed to the airport, and he asked several times, with his hands up in the air, eyebrows raised: (Where is) Grandma?
This one goes out to my good friend tjh, who’s been on my mind. Hope you are well, lots of love to you.