Christmas in Germany

Another Christmas has passed, where has 2008 gone? Momma Q's motto last year was "2008 is gonna be great!" so I think this year should be "2009 is gonna be fine!"

Chris and I had a cozy little Christmas. On Christmas eve I cooked food for the Wounded Warrior's Christmas dinner. We then went to my friend Chrissy's for dessert and wine with her family and some more friends. It was fun! It was so nice to go somewhere on Christmas Eve, that's always when the Pawling's get together. After we came home we skyped the Pawlings, and got to wish everyone a merry Christmas eve. Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents! I cooked two turkey breasts and an apple cake, which we took to Chris's friend's home for Christmas dinner and celebrated the holiday with them.

We thought about going on a trip this weekend, but eventually decided our last 2 weeks together would be better spent just hanging out rather than lost and bickering. We had a very lazy Friday. Saturday we drove to Heidelberg and went to the army post with the most amazing arts and crafts center! It was like fabric heaven, right there in the middle of Germany. Needless to say, I bought lots of fabric. Then we went to monastery ruins and the thingstatte in Heidelberg, we missed them last summer because we were way too tired to walk there. Then we stopped by Ikea! We got a little table so now I have more counter space in the kitchen, DVD bookshelves, a lamp for my sewing area, an alligator for me to snuggle when Chris leaves, and a tent for Callie. Today I made minestrone, yum!

This whole deployment thing is a crazy rollercoaster of emotions! I can't believe Chris is leaving in 1.5 weeks. The house will feel so empty without him! I plan to quilt a lot, scrapbook all my photos, and hang out with my new pals. I'm so lucky to work where I do. Everyone is so caring, and understands exactly how I'm going to feel. I think it's much better that Chris is deploying while we're both overseas, I have a great support system, and he'll only be 2 time zones ahead of me. We should be able to email a lot, and he might be able to call me now and then on the DSN line (don't tell my boss!). If anyone wants to come visit, you're more than welcome!

Christmas with Q2

Mannheim Christmas market

Be Careful What You Wish For

We found out this week that when Chris leaves for training next month, he will not return home for a few months before heading to the Middle East. He will go directly from training to the Middle East. When we initially learned in August that Chris would be leaving in April, I wished that I didn't have to think about it for 7 months before he left for 6. I suppose my wish came true.

He's had several vaccinations, including anthrax and smallpox. Callie and I have to be very cautious that we do not catch smallpox from Chris. How scary is that, I can't even touch Chris's left arm.

I finally had my sewing machine lesson this week, and then returned to the store twice because I managed to get thread caught and stuck in places it's not supposed to stick. But once I got past all that, I quilted and binded the edges of my third quilt! This quilt was made entirely with my pretty Pfaff sewing machine. Today Callie and I washed and organized fabric (she's very helpful, laying on the pieces I'm trying to cut or iron).

I've played at the terminal a few more times, and I look forward to going back next week.

Wooden Belgian Bed

We received our beautiful wooden Belgian bed today! It's great. It is very high, the top of the mattress lines up with my hips. I've decided Callie and I need a step stool to get in and out of the bed.

Poor little Callie is still under the weather :-( We took her to the vet yesterday, and she hissed at the nice doctor the whole time. It was so funny I kept laughing, I'd never seen her do that! She has updated shots and new food for her upset tummy. She's been lethargic all day, I want her to feel better soon!

Belgian Bed

It's my birthday!

This morning Chris made me pancakes! We hopped in the car for a birthday adventure to visit the Frankfurt Christmas market! Now that was what I had imagined a Christmas market to be. It was full of food, beautiful woodcarvings, and other crafts. Oh, and people too. We found a pretty lantern to burn a tealight in, an owl instrument that you blow in and it makes the owl "whoo" noise!, and two pretty carved wooden trees. Chris also found lots of bratwurst, too. We stopped by the Mainz Christmas market as well, which was much tighter as the stalls were very close together. I bought mint oil, we used it at training in the afternoons to refresh our minds for the rest of the day. I usually need a pick-me-up after lunch, so I think it will work out well. We found an ice cream cake, and now we're having a relaxing evening at home.

Yesterday was my work Christmas party! It was a lot of fun. We did Christmas trivia and had a grand meal. My friend Marisa has a violin performance degree, so we got together and worked up Christmas duets to perform, everyone loved it! We had a goodbye to Barb who is moving to Hawaii, and we learned about Christmas from our friends from other countries. It was really nice.

24th Birthday

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

Chris and I successfully purchased, brought home, and put up our first Christmas tree together! It smells so good, I love having a real tree. Callie is particularly fond of the tree as well, so we have only strung lights on it. I'm not sure how it will go with ornaments.

I had extra vacation days to use up before the end of the year, so now I'm on vacation for 2 weeks. I plan to enjoy the holiday season, relax, and spend as much time with Chris as I can because he'll be leaving after the holidays are over :-(

Today I did something really neat: I played Christmas carols at the terminal on base for the troops who were returning from deployments on their layovers to the states. It was a really great experience. Everyone was so pleased and thankful, and I was asked a few times why I was playing for them. I didn't really have a good answer planned. It is just something I want to do, and it's great for me to share music with people who haven't heard performances in a while, welcome them, and start the Christmas spirit. This is what music is about, not endless practicing and rehearsals, but sharing. I have a tentative flight schedule for the month, and I plan to go play several times. I think I'll look for other music too, maybe patriotic, so I can continue to go play after Christmas is over.

I also got a great haircut today, I like my little German hairstylist. I walked into Chris's office and sat down at his desk, and he did a double-take, he didn't even recognize me! How funny.

O Tannenbaum