Thursday, November 5, 2009

Chris Graduates

Today Chris graduated from Airman Leadership School. He was the class leader for the 6 weeks of class, as the highest ranking in the group. Tonight was the graduation ceremony at the Officer's Club. One of the perks of being with the class leader is that our table was front and center, perfect view of the stage. Chris earned the Distinguished Graduate award for being in the top 10% of his class. He's definitely ready to go back to working his regular job after the last 10 months, and I'm ready for the alarm to not go off at 5am anymore.

The kitties are making progress, they are getting closer to each other more frequently. There is more sniffing, and less hissing and swatting. Chris promises me they just need more time, and I know he's right, but I'm not good with the transition period. Can't we all just get along?

Nov 5 2009

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Phooey

Today we adopted Phooey, a kitty cat for Callie. Callie is lonely while we are at work all day, and when we're out exploring Europe. Phooey is so cute! She looks like a shrunken, miniature kitten. She spent the morning bouncing around the house exploring, and all afternoon and evening passed out on my or Chris's lap. Surprisingly, Phooey was the first to hiss and growl at Callie. Callie follows her around sniffing and watching her, but Phooey doesn't want to spend time with Callie yet. But for day one, it has been very successful.

Phooey 1

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Trier

Yesterday we took a lovely day trip to the German city of Trier. It was filled with Roman ruins, which we explored and took many photos of. We also went to the house where Karl Marx was born.

Trier 10-24-09

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Ponza and Rome

Our last day on the cruise was spent on the island of Ponza. It was almost uninhabited, only two small towns occupy the island. We took an excursion in which we sailed around the island with a tour guide and learned about the mythology and history of the island, as well as getting to jump off the boat and swim in the Mediteranean! Ponza was beautiful, as you can see in my numerous pictures. After the boat tour we went to the water sport deck on the Wind Surf and swam in the Mediterranean! I think that was probably the coolest part, swimming in the Med. It was something I'll always remember, splashing around with Chris with the beautiful island of Ponza in the background. Later that night we had dinner at the fancy seafood restaurant on one of the decks with a couple we met from Canada, and we popped open Chris's winning bottle of champagne.

Ponza Sept 2009


Early the next morning we had arrived in Citavecchia, the port of Rome that's really an hour away from Rome. It was funny to eat breakfast on the deck and look down to see a concrete parking lot/road rather than water. We ventured into Rome and checked our bags at the train station for the day. I took Chris to the classic Roman sights, we started with the Colosseum and explored the Roman forum. We ate yummy pasta for lunch, and went on to the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain. We walked around and explored more, and then made our way to the airport to come home.

Rome Sept 2009


Today we went to a farm festival in Hitscherhof. It was lovely! Craft booths, pumpkins, food, and wine. Chris ate his bratwurst (my ever-promised bribe to convince him to go places with me) and I found pumpkins, a fall wreath, and a friendly ghost. Oddly enough, I didn't take any pictures - it looked exactly the same as it did last year.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Sicily and Amalfi

After Croatia we had our day at sea. Chris and I played Wii tennis with and against other couples. We also joined a putt-putt golf tournament in the lounge. Let's just say that one hole involved a popcorn bucket and a swimming flipper. Chris won the tournament, and the prize was a bottle of champagne!

Returning to Italy, next port was Sicily. Gritty is a very good term to describe Sicily. We took a bus nort of Messina and laid on the beach for a few hours. It was lovely! The scenery was beautiful. We walked in the sand, and found a spot on a pebbly part of the beach. The Mediterranean is so beautiful! It's a beautiful blue color. We read and wet our feet. After sunning ourselves, we took a bus back to the ship and read on the deck by the pool until dinnertime. The sail away was during dinner and it was nice to watch the coast lights as we ate.

Messina Sicily Sept 2009


The next port was Amalfi. The Amalfi coast is beautiful! We hopped on our tour bus and rode along the coast, then through the mountains to Pompeii. We spent two hours exploring Pompeii, seeing remains of shops, houses, ampitheaters, and temples. It was really neat. Returning to the town of Amalfi Chris and I went into town and had a delicious Italian dinner. We walked around the shops for a bit, and then returned to the ship.

Amalfi Sept 2009

Friday, September 25, 2009

Croatia

The first two ports we sailed to were Rovinj and Split Croatia.

In Rovinj we excitedly walked to the aquarium, which though it had several examples of Aegean sea wildlife, it was very small and run-down. Then we got lost in the residential area because of Chris's lack of attention to detail on maps. Eventually we righted ourselves and enjoyed the main part of town. We walked up and down lots of narrow alleys. In the middle of town at the top of the hill we finally found the cathedral we had been looking for. It had beautiful courtyards and awesome views of the sea. We were able to walk right down to the sea and sit on rocks. Then we walked over to the marina, explored a few more streets, and found the monastery. Feeling we had experieced Rovinj to the best of our ability, we returned to the boat.

Rovinj Sept 2009


The next day in Split we had our first excursion, canoeing on the Cetina river. We had a beautiful drive from the coast of Dalmatia through the mountains to the river. At the river we met our Croatian guides and slipped into wetsuits. The water was cold! We canoed (well they call it canoeing, but it was a raft for 3 people and the first 2 people have canoe paddles and the third person in the back of the raft steer with a kayak paddle) 12 km in 2:20. The scenery was nice, and we had a few rapids. We saw ducks and fish. I did not particularly enjoy wearing the wetsuit. The wouldn't let us take the camera :-( so I have the scenery embedded in my mind. After lunch we returned to the town of Split and had just enough time to go to Diocletian's palace. I was impressed, it was much more intact than the Roman ruins in, say, Rome. Also Diocletian's palace is still thriving today, it was filled with shops and other things, it is a big part of the town. We walked through and bought our Split shot glass, and had some gelato as well.

Split Sept 2009

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Venezia, Italia

Chris and I went on an Italian cruise last week! We started with a weekend in Venice. After finding cruising down the Grand Canal and finding our hotel, we started exploring. We came across a church having a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons that evening and bought tickets. The next church we saw hosted an exhibit of musical instruments from Vivaldi's time. Past all the music fun, we explored alleys on our way to St. Mark's Square, which is very impressive. We had a delicious Italian meal, and went back to the hotel to rest before the concert. Out and about again, we had pizza and watched the Vivaldi concert. It was amazing! The musicians were fantastic. The cellist had quite a bit of character, he was very entertaining to watch.

The next morning we started walking the opposite way and walked around to the Rialto bridge. We found lots of good Venetian souvenirs, such as leather goods, a silk tie for Chris, a Venetian mask for me, and a Murano glass wine stopper. We continued on to St. Mark's Square again and went in St. Mark's Basilica. It was breathtaking! The inside was covered in gold mosaics. I loved it. We decided to take a gondola ride and it was wonderful. It was relaxing and fun to see the city from a gondola. Chris loved being on the water. We had lunch at a restaurant on the bay and decided to make our way to the cruise ship. It's a good thing we didn't take the vaporetto to the port because we would have been on the opposite side of it as our boat! We walked along the bay toward a stop recommended by our hotel host, and it ended up that we were walking straight toward our boat! We could tell because ours was the only cruise ship with sails, the Wind Surf is the largest sailing vessel in the world.

We hopped on the boat and settled into our room, then we went exploring. We had a free acupuncture appointment at the spa (eek!) and Chris got poked with needles whereas I opted for pressure points instead. We had dinner, watched the boat sail out of Venice about 10:45, and passed out in bed.

Venice Sept 2009

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Sunday in Germany

Here are the photos from Chris and Gennie's visit to Germany.

Germany with Chris and Gennie July 2009

Saturday, August 1, 2009

August is Here, 2009

Apparently I used the same title for a post last August ;-)

This has been a crazy week! I bought a car! I bought a 2005 VW Jetta, and I LOVE it. It's so much fun to drive. Particularly because it doesn't die, like it's sister our BMW. It's still not registered under my name though, because the military vehicle reg people are jerks. In the states we would have a real DMV with real people. Argh, I'm not even going to get into it.

Chris put on Staff Sergeant today! 4 stripes in 4 years, his 4 year "militarversary" was July 26. I can't wait to see him. He's supposed to come home in 5 weeks or so. 7 months down, 1 to go. Thank goodness it has gone by fast. We booked a Mediterranean cruise for when he comes home! It will be so great. We can't wait.

I also enrolled in a Master's program! I'm getting my Master of Human Relations through the University of Oklahoma. My first class is at the end of September, so I ordered my books so I can read them in August before Chris comes home. I'm really excited about my classes, the syllabi show good things in store.

This is a big month for the bank, we're moving into our brand new sparkling pristine "crown jewel of Community Bank" branch in the new KMCC at Ramstein. It's going to be so nice! All the CSR's actually have glass cubicle/offices, and I'm really excited about the host station to greet customers as they enter the bank (a few months ago our sign-in sheet was removed and thus we have mass chaos among the customers). I can't tell you how sick I am of people asking "where is your sign-in sheet?" or "do you have a sign-in sheet?" Every time I'm asked I think to myself "we got rid of it, you just have to fend for yourself." I am extra excited about the air conditioning in the new building! It has been so so hot in the branch, and the fans just aren't cutting it. Keeping the windows closed with air conditioning will also reduce the bee population, they're fond of bankers apparently.

So here we are, in August. I made it through the short dark days of January and February, Texas in March, the Netherlands and Spain in April, Istanbul in May, traveling all over with Mom and Dad in June, Chris and Gennie in July, and now I'm in August. I think I'll take a break from traveling this month, plus I'm working all the time anyway with all the big changes going on. Little does Chris know, when he returns I have many more travel plans! My list is still very long, and we only have 24 months left! It's been hard, really hard with him gone. But I'm starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Road Trip #2

For the next trip, Mom and I ventured north to Belgium and the Netherlands. Included are photos of my town, Steinwenden, and my neighborhood.

Liege & Maastricht

Friday, July 24, 2009

Road Trip #1 With Mom

While my mom was here we spent a weekend exploring Triberg and Mainau Island Germany, Zurich Switzerland, and Colmar France.

Germany, Switzerland, & France

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Heidelberg

The day Mom and I dropped Dad off at the airport we explored the Medieval city of Heidelberg.

Heidelberg June 2009

Friday, July 3, 2009

Roma

We spent a lovely weekend in Rome. I have 2 personal rules for Rome: 1. When in Rome, do as the Romans, and 2. Eat 3 servings of gelato per day.

Roma June 2009

Thursday, July 2, 2009

UK Trip

In June my parents and I ventured to Stonehenge, London, and Glasgow. Scotland was great! Our tour guide was a long lost cousin in the Buchanan clan, and he took us to the land of our ancestors, where my great-grandparents flocked sheep. It was so beautiful, I almost can't imagine why they would have immigrated to America. I can't wait to take Chris to Scotland!

Stonehenge, London, & Glasgow Oh My!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Couches!

After ordering our expensive new living room furniture during the President's day sale, it finally arrived in our house today! It's so comfortable and inviting, I love it. It's funny to think that a year ago we moved into this duplex and had NO furniture whatsoever. Yay couches!!!

Couches!!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Baden-Baden

While my parents are visiting, we have been taking numerous trips. Our first excursion was to Baden-Baden in the Black Forest of Germany. It is famous for the Roman baths. Any German town with the word "bad" in the title has a natural spa.

We drove to Baden-Baden and took a little trip through France because that's where the autobahn goes. Returning to Germany, we started at the Caracalla Therme and relaxed in the thermal waters for two hours. There were a few different pools, each with a different purpose and temperature. We spent the most time in the 93 degrees Fahrenheit pool because it was the best temp, and it had bubbles :-). It was chilly that day, but we ventured out to the outdoor pool which was only 90 degrees (but we could tell a difference). That pool had a lazy river, and we quite enjoyed riding the current around and around. Back to the bubbles for a bit, we finished in the 100 degree pool with a waterfall. We opted not to try the 60 degree pool, brrr!

Next we walked around Baden-Baden, seeing pretty houses and strolling along the beautiful Lichtentaller Allee. After much debate about a restaurant, we at lunch at a German bakery, yum! Exhausted, we made our way back home and ate dinner at my favorite Indian restaurant!

Baden-Baden

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Istanbul Pictures

Finally, 3 weeks later, I was able to upload the Turkey pictures!

Istanbul

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Istanbul, Turkey

I went to Istanbul last weekend and I loved it! I've been trying to upload my photos all week, but it's not working. So I'm going to write all about my trip and keep trying on those pictures!

Last Friday I woke up ridiculously early and flew to Istanbul. We landed around lunchtime and I spent the afternoon with a group of people from my tour group exploring. We went to the Istanbul Crafts Centre, it was located in a beautiful building with a pretty garden courtyard. There were little shops for different Turkish crafts with artisans demonstrating their skills. We saw calligraphy, ceramic painting, and more. After an afternoon snack, we were right by the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia so we took lots of pictures, they are beautiful! We explored a few carpet stores, Turkish carpets are beautifully handmade.

Our next adventure was a Turkish bath! We went to Cagaloglu Hamami, a famous bath that was featured in a 007 movie. Basically in a Turkish bath you have a long, narrow towel that doesn't cover anything (luckily we were in an old-school bath that was gender segregated) and everyone sits in a big beautiful marble room with sinks along the perimeter and bowls with which to fill with water and dump on oneself. In the middle is a raised octagonal slab of marble, that is where the bathing occurs. The scary Turkish lady grabbed me, had me lay in the middle of the room, and scrubbed me down with an exfoliating cloth. She walked me back and forth from the faucet to my spot in the middle to rinse me off. She washed me with soap, massaged me, and then washed my hair (and face and eyeballs). Then she sent me back to my corner to continue dousing myself in water and sit in the steamy room. It was quite an experience!

Our last event for the evening was a performance of the whirling dervishes. They twirled and whirled and made me dizzy, but it was neat. The musicians had very interesting instruments, I wish I had been able to get closer.

Saturday was our big culture day. Our first stop was the Blue Mosque, it was so beautiful! The outside is pretty and has a large courtyard. There are 6 minarets (towers) and 16 balconies total on the towers, representing Sultan Ahmet as the 16th sultan. To enter the mosque we had to remove our shoes (to protect the carpet and keep it clean). We also had to be sure to cover our shoulders, upper arms, and upper legs. Inside the mosque had lots of domes which were tiled and painted, there were lots of beautiful designs and colors. It is called the Blue Mosque because of the predominant blue color in the tiles (I personally didn't think blue was the dominant color, it could have easily been the Red Mosque or the Ivory Mosque).

Our next stop was the Topkapi Palace. It was huge! We explored the harem, where the sultan's wives and concubines lived guarded by eunichs. There were pretty baths and courtyards, though the women rarely ever got to venture outside. We also walked through the treasury. There were lots of fancy gold jewel-encrusted objects. My favorite part of the treasury was a courtyard overlooking the Bosphorous, it was beautiful. We saw pretty black tulips and learned that tulips originated in Turkey, they were imported to Holland from Turkey.

For lunch we ate at a Turkish meatball place. I can't tell you how the meatballs were, but the rice was yummy. Turkish food is definitely weird. Chris likes to get doner kebabs in Germany, I didn't know they originated from Turkey. I had a doner on Sunday, it was interesting...

After lunch we explored the Haghia Sophia, a church converted into a mosque. It was interesting to be in a place with both Christian and Muslim influences. There were crosses and beautiful golden frescoes of Jesus, Mary, and other influential Christians. There were also the added Muslim features, such as the mihrab (door facing Mecca), minbar (pulpit used for Friday sermon), muezzin mahfili (raised platform for prayer) and more.

A Turkish carpet factory was next on the agenda. We watched a Turkish woman weave her carpet, and learned about the different materials of carpets. I of course fell in love with the silk carpets, the most expensive. They are beautiful and the most particularly detailed, wool and cotton designs are not as fine as the silk.

We had a little time on Saturday in the Grand Bazaar! It was huge, with over 4000 shops. I haggled for my goods!

Sunday we started with Pierreloti, a scenic hill in Istanbul that locals go to. It overlooked the Golden Horn and the Bosphorous, so we could see the Europe and Asia sides of Istanbul. It was neat looking out over the city and easily pointing out the mosques by finding domed buildings with minarets. The hill was covered with graves, it was a big lush graveyard. We walked among the stones for a bit and found a tomb with the birth date in 1322 and the death in 1967. Apparently the birth date was in the Islamic calendar, and they had switched calendars by the time of the death date.

Next was the Hippodrome, well, what little remains of the stadium. We started at the fountain given by Kaiser Wilhelm II from Germany as a gift during his visit. There is an Egyptian obelisk from the 4th century AD and the pictures show a chariot race. The Serpent column was from Delphi in 479 BC. It was 3 entertwined serpents, but the heads were knocked off by a drunken Polishman a few centuris ago. The last obelisk is the Column of Constantine which looked very old, and may have been sheathed in bronze.

Off to the Turkish jewelry store, we saw pretty things. The salesman that followed me around was very nice. He asked about my husband, and was alarmed when I said he was in Iraq. It was refreshing to have someone in Turkey, a bordering country of Iraq, be concerned. I never know what the reaction is going to be about us living here serving in the US military. Some people are all for it, but there are lots of others who don't want us here. The salesman let me try on a 2.4 carat diamond solitaire, it was very very nice ;-)

We spent the early afternoon in the Spice Bazaar! I loved it! There were spices, teas, and nuts everywhere. It was so fun to explore. We had lunch at a fancy restaurant (where I tried my doner). The New Mosque was right by the bazaar, so we walked around it's courtyard amazed by the alarming number of pigeons hanging around. Walking around the side of the Spice Bazaar we found the pet section! There were chicks, bunnies, and fishies oh my! There were also several leeches for sale, the vendor plunked them into water bottles for the purchasers. Eww.

The late afternoon was our sea voyage of the Bosphorous! We sailed along the Europe side looking at the buildings and beautiful water, then we sailed back along the Asia side! We stopped on the Asia side for half an hour! I was so so so excited to go to Asia! I was in the same continent as Chris for half an hour!!! There's pictures of me in Asia, and we walked around the block and saw Asian stores, cats, and streets.

After the boat ride we walked along Taksim square, where the locals spend time. The Turkish word for taxi is taksi, I liked it. I bought Turkish ice cream and the crazy vendor did tricks with my ice cream. I was not expecting it, nor was I in the mood. I didn't know what he was doing to my ice cream! It was very thick, more like pudding than ice cream.

In the evening we had our cheesy Turkish night. Weird food and silly entertainment. There were folk dancers, belly dancers, and a singer. The belly dancers were good, that was neat. The singer was super cheesy, I almost couldn't take it. Luckily the tour guide decided we could leave early.

Monday we spent the morning at the Grand Bazaar and I bought lots of fun things! It was great to be in a country where the dollar was worth more, not less. It was a really neat place to shop, and there were so many different things and choices around every corner we turned.

In the afternoon we walked back over by the mosques and explored the Basilica Cistern. It was really neat, and I kept getting drips of water on me but that was okay :-). The columns were all different, and one had a swirly pattern and two had Medusa heads at the base. I cannot imagine how this vast structure was built in 532.

Back to the hotel, we packed our last purchases and made our way to the airport, flying back to Germany that evening. I had a great trip! Istanbul was the most amazing place I've been so far!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Netherlands!

This weekend Marina and I ventured to the Netherlands! We drove up on Friday night and passed out in our hotel room, it was quite late. Saturday morning we lazily woke up and tried to find a restaurant for breakfast - no luck. We continued on to the town of Delft, famous for the Delft royal pottery. Luckily there was a cafe there and we had a light lunch. The Delft factory was amazing, there were so many pretty plates on display. It was really nice.

Our next adventure on Saturday was to the Keukenhof Gardens! It was so beautiful, there were fields and fields of spring bulb flowers. We took lots of pictures, and enjoyed the sights and smells. It was so relaxing to walk through and see lots of pretty flowers and fountains.

Saturday evening Marina did some homework and I went to the beach! I love the beach, it's very exciting to go to the beach for me because I grew up smack dab in the middle of America, no beaches. I sat in the sand and watched the waves for a while, then I walked along the surf and collected sea shells. It was beautiful, and the sea was the same color as the sky.

We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and fell asleep watching a movie.

I loved the Netherlands! Something about it felt very relaxing and tranquil. There were lots of people, but nobody was in a rush or upset, they were just there enjoying themselves. I even felt that way driving on the highway, everyone was just driving along doing their own thing. People ride bikes all over the Netherlands, there were lots of bike lanes and trails. Luckily, everyone we encountered spoke English. We didn't even know how to say anything in Dutch, so it was a good thing!

The Netherlands 4-11-09

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Busy as a Bee!

It's finally spring! The weather has been so beautiful this week. The daffodils are blooming! Pictures of my pretty daffodils are in the photo album below.

I've been very busy. I've been hanging out and eating with friends, sewing, cat-sitting, and working.

Last Sunday I went to Heidelberg with Melanie and Alfred, they had never been so I was their tour guide.

Over Easter Marina and I are going to the Netherlands! We're going to stay on the beach (I imagine the North sea will be a little chilly), visit Keukenhof gardens, and many other fun Dutch things!

At the end of the month Marina and I are going to Madrid, that will be super fun! I love love love being able to travel, though I do miss Chris when I travel. But it makes the time go by faster.

Callie is well, silly as ever. Now that it's nice out we take romps in the yard a few times a day. She loves it!

I have 2 new piano students I will start to teach next week. I should probably pick out which method books I want to use and get things together. Maybe after my trip...

Heidelberg 4-5-09

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Chris and Gennie are Married!

I got to spend last week in warm, sunny Texas! I met my family in Austin TX for a lovely week of wedding festivities and fun. It was so nice to see my family, I miss you all a lot! We ate lots of good Texas food, played Wii, and went to the Austin Symphony which was amazing. The most important event was Chris and Gennie's wedding! They married on Thursday in their pretty, lush backyard.

Chris and Gennie's Wedding

Monday, March 9, 2009

Rhine Trip

Yesterday I went on a trip along the lovely Rhine river. We started at Reichenstein Castle which is better described by my photos than words. The second stop was at Stefan's Wine and Christmas Paradise where we sampled eiswein, the top wine in Germany. It is made when the grapes have received their first frost, but not thawed yet. On the drive to Stefan's we passed the Loreley rock on the Rhine, so I purchased a Loreley shot glass and a Bavarian music cd. The next event was our Rhine river cruise. We sailed up and down the river enjoying the many castles, vineyards, and adorable Rhein towns. After the cruise was lunch in an awesome restaurant. Old instruments were everywhere - hanging on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, it was neat to look at them all. The meal was schnitzel and fries, but since I ordered the vegetarian meal I had a potato schnitzel and fries. Very carb-filled. After lunch we walked next door and had the most fun wine tasting I've ever experienced. Hans, our wine director, was hilarious. We tried his red wine, rose, riesling, and another white wine. Germany is more known for white wines than red. I bought some wine because I had so much fun! Our final stop for the day was in Rudesheim am Rhein, where I went to the Music Cabinet Museum and wandered the streets. The music cabinet museum was so cool! I have lots of pictures for that too. Of course, on the way to the museum I start talking to Ramos and we end up getting lost, but we found the museum eventually. We had a large puertorican group on our tour, they are training at a nearby army post. He was practicing his English on me, and I practiced my Spanish. After the museum I walked along the Drosselgasse, the most famous street in Rudesheim, so I bought another shot glass to remember that. I shared a piece of cake with the tour guide and another passenger in a fancy cafe until it was time to go. It was a fun day, and though it would have been great to do it with Chris, I'm proud of myself for trying something on my own, succeeding, and having such a good time.

The Rhine

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Quattlebaum means fruit tree!!!

Our name has been redeemed! When Chris and I moved here the German ladies in the housing office told us that "quattle" meant some sort of skin pustule, but actually that is "quaddel" with 2 d's!!! Our name is spelled with 2 t's! Quattel is an old German word that was regional, and this particular word did not make it into modern day German. Quattel is a type of fruit in the plum family, it is yellow and sweet. Our name means fruit tree! I found this out from the nice Germans at my furniture store, they were very informative.

Apparently the original Quattlebaums originated in the German state that Chris and I live in, Rhineland-Pfalz, also called the Palatinate. Here is a little tidbit I found from a genealogy site:

The name Quattlebaum is made up of two words. The latter word, "baum", or "tree"
presents no difficulty. The word "quattel", denoting the specie, seems to have
been a provincial word that has not found its way into the present-day German
language. There is a family tradition to the effect that the quattel was a
fruit, belonging to the apple, or quince family. A late informant says the word
"quattel" denotes the pruneplum. The original sturdy stock of the quattle tree,
most likely, has through grafting or budding become a more modern fruit. It is
said that the quattel was a slow-growing tree, so slow-growing that the planter
seldom lived to reap the fruit from the tree he planted. Hence, a man was said
to "plant his quattels" when he did something for posterity. (Family tradition
regarding the name traces back to "an old German scholar" who taught at the
schools of Saxe Gotha about a century ago.) During the first 2 generations in
America, the family spelled the name Quattelbaum. In the third generation, the
spelling under English influence, became confused. The fourth generation
eventually settled on the spelling in use today - Quattlebaum.

In other words, today has been a good day. The weather is sunshiny and springy, I have all my windows open. I ran errands, had lunch with friends, and cleaned the house. In a little bit my piano student will arrive. I've been listening to flute music all day, it makes me want to practice. *gasp*

Chris arrived just fine in the middle east yesterday. He sent me a short message to let me know. He is training for the rest of this week.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Round 2

Chris left for the middle east today :-( It was harder to say goodbye at the airport, but easier to come home to the empty house. I don't think it has really set in yet. I treated myself to a little retail therapy in K-town, I found some great quilt fabric. My neighbor across the street invited me over for dinner and we had a nice time.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day, we are in Fasching which is the German version of Mardi Gras. There will be lots of parades all afternoon, I hope I'll be able to get home from work!

My new favorite holiday in Germany is Easter! Remember all those Christmas markets I posted about? Germans also have Easter markets! There is a fantastic one the first weekend in March at a very historic monastery, I'm excited to check it out.

It was great to have Chris home for a week. It was nice just to be together again, even for just a little while.

Chris leaving

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Chris is home!!!

Much to my surprise, Chris came home over the weekend! It is so so great to have him home, we are enjoying our time together very much. I've been cooking his favorite foods, doing his laundry, and letting him nap :-) Callie is enjoying attacking her daddy's feet. We decided just to stay home and spend time together while he's here for a week, instead of traveling. I'm planning a big trip through Italy for when he comes back in September!

For Valentine's day Chris bought me a new printer, it's awesome. It's an HP photosmart so now I can print my own photos! That's very helpful since I'm a scrapbooker. It's wireless too, so we put it on our network and don't have to hook it up to our computers with a usb cord. Newfangled technology that I understand, yay!

We tried to do our taxes on base at the legal office, but all the computers were down. Confused and sick of waiting, we decided to go to H&R Block in Ramstein and I bet it only took the guy 20 minutes to do our taxes! We are so relieved to have that done. We tried to file online the other day, but my Missouri stuff was iffy and wouldn't let us. I have special things because I have foreign income, and the nice man got everything squared away and ready to go! That's a big weight lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully taxes will be easier from now on.

Callie is super cute, as always. She's gotten used to sharing the bed with only me, so now I wake up trapped between Chris and Callie with hardly any room to move! I've been quilting a lot, and trying to teach myself guitar. I checked out a book from the library and bought a book yesterday, but I really need help with the hand positions and guitar-specific information. I'm trying to find a teacher, so far no luck. One of my piano students wants me to play the Peanuts theme song (Linus and Lucy) for her, I guess I should practice and set a good example ;-)

Here are photos of Chris's adventures in training.

Chris Training

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Where did January go?

This was a busy week, and of course at work I got to help all the crazy customers. It's not even a full moon, it's almost a new moon! But I suppose it was payday.

I've talked to Chris a few more times, we like to pick out houses in Georgia :-). He still doesn't know anything more. He actually has orders, but they are classified so he can't even read them, they are in code. 3 weeks down, I don't even want to count how many more. Check out the photo album, he sent me a photo to post!

I've been a quilting machine! I've posted lots of photos of the Callie cat quilt Callie and I made for my Granny. I was worried about Callie spending so much time on it, as Granny is allergic to cats. But I washed it and Mom washed it, and Granny has been snuggling under it sneeze and watery-eye free. Last night I finished the top of my next top-secret quilt, stay tuned for pictures in the future.

Callie and I have been playing, organizing, cleaning, and relaxing at regular intervals. I'm going to make our house all decorated, cozy, and organized. It doesn't quite feel like home with Chris gone, so I'm going to make it look like home and we'll be cozy when he returns.

Surprise, surprise, it's a cloudy cold day in Germany. Apparently this winter is colder than winters in Germany have been for years, which I find odd because I thought it would be cold in Germany anyway. I guess it's usually milder. Maybe it will snow again soon!

Chris and Quilts

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Maggie Has a Little Lamb

I got to play with a lamb yesterday! My pal Maggie lives on a farm, and I go to her house on Tuesdays after work. Last week after I left, a sheep gave birth to two lambies! Apparently sheep only take one of their young, so Sophie the second lamb is living in Maggie's basement while it's too cold outside for her to live in the barn yet. We went downstairs and played with her, she likes to jump around. She was so soft! Right before I left it was feeding time so I was able to feed her milk from a bottle, she was so precious.

I have been doing lots of cleaning and organizing. I need to go to Ikea this weekend and pick up a few essentials to help keep our belongings in order.

Work is busy! Lots of people are moving to Ramstein right now so we have lots of accounts to open, and the audit to prepare for. Now we're supposed to move into the new KMCC by June 1, last time we were told May 1, and as I understand this delay has been going on for 2 years. Supposedly it will really happen this time. I have a feeling we'll be in the middle of the huge building with no windows, I'll have to run outside now and then for some sunshine and fresh air!

Sewing is going well, I finished my recent quilt and hemmed 3 pairs of my pants (I'm short and pants are long). I'm about to start on my next quilt, it will be super cute!

Chris is very busy at training, learning the gamut of army life. This week he is learning how to drive a humvee. He was supposed to stop at Ramstein on his way down range, but just this morning I saw a note that he won't be, I haven't heard the details yet. We don't get a chance to talk very often, just a few times a week. When we do talk, we look at houseplans together and talk about how nice it will be to move to Georgia when we're done with our exciting 3 year european adventure.

Callie has been great at keeping me company and entertained, we play and snuggle a lot. She was feeling under the weather for a bit, but she's perked back up. The other day another cat was in our yard and she meow-howled! It was hilarious. I'm pretty sure she was defending her yard.

Lamb!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Rainy Day

Today the weather was decently warmer and very rainy. I spent the day quilting, scrapbooking, and quilting some more. Yesterday was more of the same. Though my scrapbooking subject was different: I volunteered on base to scrapbook memories of a family whose mother suddenly passed away last month. She had tons of pictures but hadn't scrapbooked them yet, so a huge station was set up in one of the school gyms for people to come help. I went in the morning and took the donations we collected at the bank, and I went back in the evening too. While I was there, a nice lady was sewing a quilt the mother had bought fabric for. I talked to her, and she's in the local quilt guild. She emailed me with details of when the guild meets, and I'm excited to go!

Piano lessons were super fun this week. Nicholas was nice and calm, a new change. He kept me on track this week! Ashleigh rocked at her lesson, she did extra theory work last week and it really clicked for her! I love giving piano lessons.

Wednesday was a fun day. It snowed all day! It was more like snow chunks than snow flakes, the pieces were large! I went to see a counselor, who I think is really going to help me stay sane while Chris is gone. I also went to my favorite furniture store and picked out my sofa set which I bought on friday! I went to downtown Kaiserslautern for the afternoon to walk around and shop in the snow. I went to base to check the mail, and I visited with my friend Nate who is the OU representative, we talked about masters programs. They have a Human Relations masters, which is psychology with a business world name. That means the bank may pay for my degree! And you know me, I can never have enough school or degrees. It's pretty cool though, the degree is exactly the same as the stateside degree because OU actually flies out their own professors to teach the classes!

My friend Melanie invited me over to her place for dinner on thursday. Her husband made us swedish meatballs, and we watched the American Idol auditions in Kansas City. I was hoping to see someone I knew, but maybe it's better that I didn't ;-).

Work has been okay. I've been getting weirdos lately. I guess it was a full moon last week, maybe this week will be better. I'm working on my first US-spec used car loan, it's exciting. Is it odd to think that loans are exciting? It's pretty powerful to be a loan officer.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Everything I See is Camou Green

Chris arrived safely in the states. He called me the other day, and we're able to talk through email and skype. I've been keeping very busy so far. I worked friday and saturday morning, spent saturday afternoon and evening with great friends, and today I made soup and my pal Val came over to do her laundry. My laundry room is in the middle of the house, but her's is on the edge and her pipes froze. She brought her Wii Fit and we played, it's super fun! Now if only stores would get it back in stock. As for Germany, it's very very cold.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

So It Begins

We had a deployment briefing this morning. Chris ran around all day still trying to outprocess, which won't be done before he and JR leave. Lopez can't get Wed or Thurs off to spend with JR or take the guys to the airport. We decided today that I wouldn't be able to take them, though I offered. There's no way I could make it back home, so they're going to take a shuttle. This afternoon I did laundry and started organizing Chris's stuff so the packing process goes easier. While sorting through his military gear I dumped out his chem bag and burst into tears. It's so weird because I always just see that stuff in the movies, but here it is in real life belonging to my husband and he's going to be in the desert using it. He's leaving so soon, it feels so real and so unreal at the same time. Tomorrow we'll be buying some last minute items and packing up Chris's life for the next 9 months.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Snow Day

It snowed all day today! It was so beautiful. Snow is the most peaceful precipitation in the world. I unfortunately stayed home sick today, so I opened the window shades in my bedroom while I napped all morning, then I opened the living room curtains to see the snow as I watched Gilmore Girls on DVD.

Chris ran around like crazy all day! He now has to completely outprocess because this time they've decided again that he won't come back for a few days in February. They change their minds so much I've decided to quit trying to figure it out. It just doesn't feel real, though I'm sure it will on Thursday.

Snow Kitty

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Happy New Year!

Alas, 2009 has begun. Today I feel okay about it, but my feelings are on a rollercoaster with Chris being gone for 3/4 of the year. We had a nice New Year's eve, I drank sparkling grape juice (red and white mixed together, the best) and Chris had beer. We snuggled on the couch watching the first season of 24 till midnight. In Germany the tradition is to set off fireworks for the new year, so we opened up the blinds and watched a beautiful show in our town. It reminded us of the 4th of July.

We received more Christmas boxes in the mail! Annie and Chris sent us the sweetest family plaque, I love it! The Quattlebaums sent us lots of cool stuff as well. Callie received a new laser pointer from Bandit, her new favorite toy! She loves it!Thank you everyone! We did finally take down the Christmas tree. As luck would have it, I started feeling better once it was gone, now we know not to get that kind again next year, if only we could remember what kind of tree it was.

Chris is leaving this week, so we've been spending all our time together. The other day we bought toiletries and necessities, and I found a few sudoku books for entertainment while he's traveling. He still has to pack, but he has to have his nametapes sewn on his new uniforms first. That will be tomorrow's project. He's leaving out of the Frankfurt airport, and I haven't decided yet if I will go with him to the airport or not. I'm not sure I will be able to make it home if I go. I have a list of things to do to keep myself entertained while he is gone, but it will be very hard not having him around. I have lots of quilts to make, lots of scrapbooking to do, lots of things at work, and I have lots of friends to keep me company. Everyone I work with and that Chris works with says I can call anytime, as well as our sweet neighbor across the street and a super nice friend that Chris knew at Whiteman who is here. Callie cat will be there for me always, my fuzzy little best friend. I don't know what I would do without my kitty!

Christmas #2