Sheep
From where I stand the sheep stand still
As stones against the stony hill.
The stones are gray
And so are they.
And both are weatherworn and round,
Leading the eye back to the ground.
Two mingled flocks –
The sheep, the rocks.
And still no sheep stirs from its place
Or lifts its Babylonian face.
-Robert Francis
St Nicholas is busy this time of year, visiting local schools and churches. We have caught a few glimpses of him this season. At a local church…
And he even honked and waved at us from a white convertible at a stoplight one night, which left an indelible impression on Tess. As in, "Better get to bed now Tess, St. Nicholas is coming!"
"In his white car???"
So, that sorta threw off the authentic German Catholic vibe we were shootin' for but hey.
We still read about the beloved saint and woke to wooden shoes filled with traditional clementines, nuts, and chocolate coins in memory of the good Turkish bishop's efforts to secure an honorable future for some unfortunate maidens.
One of the few days you get chocolate for breakfast.
Lest you are mistakenly awed (and hence discouraged) by this display of authentic cultural celebration, let me just mention that Nikolaustag is Dec 6th.
These pictures were taken Dec 7th 'cause, um, St. Nicholas' helper discovered at a distressingly late date that she was shy on clementines and candy canes.
In 20 yrs they will never know. ; )
German bathrooms are a funny thing. To us anyway. They most often have turn knobs like these. Very often there is also some change involved. Either you leave it in a bowl on the sink or you may actually have to insert it in the door to enter the stall. Reason being – there is often a live person nearby who is vigorously cleaning the room all day long. So you tip. Even if you are an American and are a little unsettled by women running in and out of both the men's and women's restrooms whomever may be present. (one of my little boys hasn't yet recovered from being advised on a potty stop. I will leave it at that lol)
The faucet in this restroom will strike American readers as odd namely because it is singular. That would be cold. But, not uncommon.
If you follow this Pinterest board of mine, you will guess how much I loved these mod door signs spotted at a local church:
I am easily amused, although you may be too if you made it this far down a post about potties. ; D
We kicked off the Weihnachtsmarkt season in Trier the day after Thanksgiving. Trier is one of my favorite places in Germany and I knew even if the market was a bust, there would be plenty to see.
The skeletal remains of the vineyards stand in stark contrast to their summer glory.
First stop is parking, always a challenge with the Suburban. Always a challenge. Here stands the man, victorious at last.
Parked nearby was a decked out scooter. "Cause really, what scooter couldn't benefit from a little fringe right?
On we walked to the city center.
Past St. Christopher, who figures prominently in German sculpture and murals.
and St Nicholas…
The markets themselves are usually set up in the city square or walkplatz. Stalls are arranged with food, drink, and wares for sale. Drink of choice is hot gluhwein.
Our bunch dove into this bucket of chocolate covered goodness.
can't pass up some mushroom love…
We passed back through the Porta Nigra on the way out, it's facade illuminated. Stunning!
My GPS is often crabby. She wasn't speaking to me the other day when I was driving over to a friend's home and I missed the turnoff entirely. This ended up being a blessing because just a little further down the road was Gelterswoog, home of the local rowing club and the See Hotel (literally Lake Hotel) both of which were serenely beautiful, even on this overcast fall day when we went back for a closer look.
I am knee deep in Christmas prep and Thanksgiving prep this week, rather in that order because of the long shipping times to and from here. Because I can never do one thing at a time, I am trying to master digital design in my spare time, some of which is coming easily and some which is very… not. Hence I am sharing digital layouts this week.
A funny – after returning home from the grocery store with the jellied cranberry, the brown and serve rolls, and the boxed stuffing mix – as per directions – I pointed out to husband that women's magazines are brimming with Thanksgiving recipes and menu ideas. This was met with sincere consternation and a very earnest, "Why?"
You don't fool with traditional holiday food around here. They want their cranberries to slip jiggling onto the plate and to fan out with the can indentations visible on the sides of those circles of gelled tang. They want marshmallows or pecans and brown sugar on the sweet potatoes thankyouverymuch. Don't even think about lemon meringue or Tollhouse cookie pie. It will be apple, pumpkin, and pecan. With Breyer's ice cream. The only permissable vegetable for the day (aside from the potatoes) is obviously green beans. Obviously <g>
So if you were looking to me for holiday inspiration, I am sure to disappoint. : ) But it won't disappoint the people under this roof who are thoroughly unimpressed with experimentation. Perhaps it is all our moving, all the regular change of scenery in our lives. Whatever it is, they hold fast to their seasonal celebrations and they must look as much as possible like they did way back once upon a time in 1970's era Wisconsin.
Alright, off and running on that note. More from our weekend wandering:
you can see below that in the middle of the woods, and off the trail proper, we stumbled upon a crucifix in the crook of an old tree. Just like that.
About a half mile down the road and accessible only by a dirt path lies this little fishing hole in the woods. I have walked past it from the trail and driven past it from the road. The other day we made the trek down the path to get a closer look.
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While there is life, there is hope. Lean into the plow and don't look back. It is the looking back that throws us off course and sows weeds of despair. |
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Halloween came together last minute this year, much like it did last year come to think of it. The week before we had no costumes and no plan b. Within days of the big event on base we gathered all we needed. Those gleeful little faces were worth every bit of the effort. Oh they had a grand time.
Trick or Treat is a really big deal on an overseas military base. As is Fourth of July. Folks go ALL out. As in, there were lines in front of many houses. The gate was backed up for a quarter mile.
There is a true Mayberry spirit here. The children are applauded for their costumes and their thank-you's.
That is my Superhero below….
We are asked to refrain from taking identifiable pictures of the base so that's all here. But I am making one exception for the woman twirling flaming batons in her backyard. Kid you not. I did say folks go all out. Don't try this at home folks. : )
Hope you have thoroughly enjoyed your weekend as well!
Starry Sky Journal 