Nothing like it.

(That beer after a hard day's work I mean.). Happy New Year everyone!

Waiting for the go-ahead.

Believe it or not, we're at the ages now where they need to be woken up on Christmas.

Lucky Squirrel

Alcohol...

...Because no great story ever started with someone eating a salad!

Dueling Desks - Updated

Erin has had these on her wish list for a while, but they're finally done!

Both desks are bookmatched cherry that was cut down two years ago.  The main part of the tree was used to make the shelf behind the couch.  Leftovers made Marlee's bed and now these desks.  My old phone with a scratched-up lens does not do the grain justice, but the grain in the crotches is amazing.

The request was for a clean, simple desk.  The natural edge was left on the front of the desk as well as the keyboard tray and the computer shelf.  Nothing is supported from the floor.  The 23" LCD monitors go on the wall, but I'm missing a right angle HDMI connector to make it work.  (Who would make a super thin monitor with the connectors coming straight out the back instead of down?)

PS-Post updated because for some reason the email option is deleting all of my text between photos.  Uhg.

Homework desks

Remember the cherry tree we harvested 2 years ago? Well, there was the shelf in the living room and now there are bookmatched homework desks. A couple more coats to spray and we can install. New monitors showed up today. Should be good to go for homework over the holidays!

Ice Storm Yesterday

Lost power sometime during Sunday night. Had a heck of a time finding a path out of our neighborhood to get to work. But ice is always cool looking:

Heading Home

More pictures to come on the blog, boarding in Amsterdam now.

Day 4 - Wurzburg

Today we ventured out on our own to Wurzburg.  We loaded into Crystal's new car, set the nav system, hit the autobahn, and cruised along a little over 100 mph.  Target of the day was The Residence.  It's big.  It's fancy.  The English tour didn't start until 1500.  So we headed into downtown and got some lunch.  Every town in Germany is in full prep mode for what must be some serious outdoor Christmas markets.

Walking through old town Wurzburg looking for lunch.

As it got closer to three, we headed back towards the Residence and took some pictures.  First out front, and then as we walked through the gardens.

Inside, the place was amazing.  I managed only a couple of pictures of the grand staircase from the foyer before I realized there was no photography permitted.  The rest of the palace was much more impressive.  I highly recommend it.  And don't forget the little chapel which is not part of the main tour and admission. It's mind boggling.

 

 

 

Looking up the main staircase.

Once we made it home, it was time to face reality.  Reality meant that John and I had run through his beer supply.  So it was time to shop.  I like shopping for beer in Germany.  Grab a case, and start dumping in 1/2 L bottles of whatever sounds good.

And then it's time for our nightly Scrabble challenge.  After 4 nights and 7 games , Crystal still leads.  Although tonight Erin was the first to clear all 7 letters for a 74 point score...that made up some ground.

Day 3 - Bamberg

Bamberg is less of a medieval walled city and more of a city of fancy buildings and palaces.

Here you see the rocket surgeons trying to make the telescope work.

At least everyone was in good spirits despite the cold.  We actually had snow that afternoon.  Bavaria is definitely a place for scarves and hats.

View from St. Michael's.  Bamberg and the surrounding areas have a peaceful feeling.

And finally, a wonderful dinner with only adults at a local brewery.  Here was the dessert sampler that the ladies shared.  The waiter enjoyed talking to me in Spanish after I messed up early in the evening with the wrong language while ordering.

Day 2 - Rothenburg

Today we visited the wonderful walled city of Rothenburg after sleeping in and having a slow start.  The wall goes around the old city and you can walk along the top of most of it.

One of the things that Rothenburg is known for is their Sneeballen.  As I understand it, they take all the leftover scraps of random dough, make balls which are deep fried and then coated in various flavors.

At one point, Cailin tried to make friends with the locals.

The daily attempt at a Christmas Card photo

And there's that polished socialite coming out

Marlee found her knight in shining armor.

We visited the crime and punishment museum, but Emma and Finn weren't getting the hint.

After Crystal tried to throw herself into a moving car, the rest of the pack started to line up and wait for a clearing in the traffic.

I'll never understand the selfie thing, but I plan to submit this for Cailin's yearbook picture.

Germany Day 1 - Nuremberg

First full day in Germany; we traveled to Nuremberg for the day.  In one of two main churches, we stuck our heads in and stumbled upon Christmas Concert practice.

And a couple of Christmas card photo ops:

 At the imperial castle, I found my hobbit door.  The master plan now includes a similar door and an underground wine cellar out in the yard, with a secret underground tunnel into the house....and of course a backhoe.

We are here visiting our good friends who recently moved over here.  John, Crystal, and their two boys are awesome hosts.  After visiting a cool museum on the city of Nuremberg, we hit a traditional German restaurant.  I think I'll have my share of beer on this trip, and John seems happy to oblige.

Here's hoping it will keep her in.

Damn terrier breeds...

Nate and I built this a super fence 10 years ago.  We trenched 12" deep before installing the fence.  Well, after 10 years the underground part of the wire has started to rust away.  And or whatever reason, Myla has decided to start digging after underground creatures. They tunnel along the fence, so she eventually dug out by accident.  And then it was on.  Blocking holes was useless, she'd make another.  I put 4x4's down the length the fence, but she just dug and pushed her way between the 4x4 and the fence and out.  So now we have concrete.  If that doesn't work, I think we're going to have to go all out and install a new fence.  But I'll use heavier gauge wire!

I've decided small deer aren't worth it.

There was a lot of time invested in these four little packs of meat.

Custom Armguard

Arrived just in time for this 13 yr old.

Tough luck

Broken trailer axle. Time to start welding I guess.

Good day to be in the woods...

The torrential rain has let up for a few hours. Came across this little guy.

It's on!

The happy girls

Crowd pleaser

Girl's night out.

12 scoop, 6 topping sundae!

Beer

The Bier Stein in Eugene, Oregon.

And they're off

Freshman girls XC, Cailin's first highschool 5k.