Happy Thanksgiving 2010

This year, considering I'm in my 39th week of pregnancy, Peter and I decided to have a low key Thanksgiving......just the two of us. We know we will only be "two of us" for a little while longer, so we thought we would enjoy a nice, peaceful, quiet meal while we still had the chance.

It is a cold and rainy day in Strasbourg.....perfect day to stay in the kitchen cooking delicious comfort foods. Actually, as I type this, Peter is reporting that it is now snowing. He is so happy........our first snow of the year.


Peter had class this morning, so I spent the morning cooking. When he returned from class, he, being the best husband ever, took over in the kitchen so I could go to my afternoon class.


After my class, I walked into a cozy kitchen that smelled of sweet potatoes and cinnamon. Peter had even "cleaned as he went," which is a skill I have been modeling and hoping he would pick up on. Definitely on my "something to be thankful for this year" list.


Thankgiving is, hands down, my most favorite meal of the year. But this year, since I'm now also feeding a 7 lb growing baby, I was even more excited than usual to enjoy this spread.


Our spread included all of the traditional favorites..........sweet potato casserole, turkey and dressing with gravy, green beans, and cranberry apple crisp. To throw in some french flair, we added on of the recently released 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau as our wine.

Every single bite was delicious.


The best part though, was spending it together........


Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family. We love you and miss you and are so thankful to have each of you in our lives! Stay tuned for posts about the arrival of baby Susannah.

Only two weeks left in this countdown!

Well, with two weeks to spare, I think we can safely say that we are as ready as we will ever be for Baby Mallory's arrival. As you can see from these pics, she is still growing. On day 1 of my 38th week, we are definitely looking closer to the finish line than ever before.


This is the nursery.


As I am very indecisive, starting a new room for Susannah from scratch was a challenge for me. The one thing I was decisive about, though, was that I didn't want anything themed or too matching. As you will see from the photos, I got my wish. Susannah will be sleeping surrounded by bunnies, mermaids, a bird, and a cow..........

At least the colors coordinate........


She will also swing with a lion, a hippo, and a fish:

With all this early exposure, maybe she will be a biologist like her grandmother.

The dad-to-be did a great job putting together all her new furniture, including this great shelf and dresser.



And we are all three excited to use our cadillac of jogging strollers, the BOB Revolution. Thanks Mimi and Poppy!


According to calculations after speaking with our friends who are new parents, we think we stocked up on enough diapers to last for at least a few weeks.


We are so grateful to all of our friends and family who gave us things to help fill this room. And to all of you who are praying for us, THANK YOU!!! Our hospital here has wifi, so maybe the next post will be from there with pics of the new arrival!

Hollis: Europe Tour take two

Well it was an event for the ages. My brother Hollis paid me a visit in August while Whitney was enjoying the heavy, stale breezes of a lovely humid summer over in the states. It was definitely one of the top highlights of my time here in France. When I initially found out that Whitney would be summering in an air conditioned location I immediately rang my brother to check his schedule for a visit. It turned out that he was available.

I picked Hollis up in Stuttgart and we headed deeper into Germany. Munich, otherwise known as one of the world capitals of beer due to its famous festival Octoberfest,was our destination. I was suffering from the dreaded summer cold and Hollis was battling his jet-lag so we decided that the most appropriate place in Munich to cure our maladies was of course... a beer garden...



Despite our maladies Hollis and I managed to see quite a few sights in this historic german city...



Going beyond the number one pastime in Germany, that being the tasty beverages, Hollis and I embarked on a tour of the delicious delicacies that Bavaria has to offer...



Ahh...Weiner Schnitzel and a tall pils...the Germans know how to live!

During a before dinner stroll through Munich proper, Hollis and I managed to meet quite an interesting personality. A older German man had made himself quite comfortable in a thown-out Lazy-Boy lounger with a splendid view of the city. This unusual situation prompted immediate intervention on our parts. After all, anyone relaxing in a beautiful square in Munich in a Lazy-Boy recliner...well that's somebody unique. After a cordial introduction and a brief conversation on Bavarian culture this gentleman turned out to be quite a nice guy and intimately familiar with his home city. Our new friend took us on a detailed, twilight walking tour of his home city of Munich.


Here is Hollis with our guide getting a behind the scenes look at one of the oldest restaurants of Germany...

After a night of suckling pig and seeing the catacombs of Munich, free of charge, we set our sights on the neighboring country of Austria. We decided to take a lovely drive into the Austrian Alps to see one of the most notorious homes in the Alpes...Hitlers' "Eagle's Nest."

This mountain perch, that was a gift to Hitler and only used by him a handful of times, offered amazing views of the Alps and the Austrian city of Salzburg. Hollis found it amusing to get as close to the edge of this sheer mountain as possible...


Hollis soon discovered that going thirsty in this region of the world is a virtually non-existant threat, despite the altitude. I will say though, with a view of the Austrian Alps, cool air and spending some quality time with your brother...well a couple of bottles of dark german beer is the perfect icing on the cake.

After walking inside the residences we noticed some historical markers with photographic memorabilia from just after the allies took control of the region in 1944. We noticed one photo in particular. Gen. Mark Clark and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower standing at the "Eagles Nest." Of course, Hollis and I being Citadel grads and Mark Clark being former president of The Citadel and buried next to the Chapel...well, we had to take a photo. Unfortunately the line to view the photos was dreadfully slow with several elderly germanic couples. So natually Hollis decided to speed up the process by hopping the roped barrier so I could snap a photo of him. While the older german, austrian and french tourists starred with confusion, Hollis turned around purposefully, pointed at the black and white photograph and addressed the group of tourists matter of factly, stating...."That's my daddy!" ...then turned and walked away.

The hike down from the rocky perch was absolutely beautiful...


...however the bus ride down the mountain was a bit more tense...


We made it back to Munich in one piece and just when you thought it couldn't get any stranger....well it did. Following dinner at a restaurant near our house, where I was interrogated by a no-nosense bodyguard protecting "someone" important after taking a picture of the person, Hollis and I found ourselved on the fairgrounds that would be Okterberfest in just over a month.

The crisp and quiet air was realy unique to experience, knowing that in a few short weeks the place would be filled with people. Like the calm before the storm.

Yet, in the quiet air we could hear some jovial music and other signs of an obvious summer night festivity in Munich....

those sound originating from no other event than....BLADE NIGHT!

Yes, for you folks stuck outside this wonderful union we call Europe, this is a summer tradition in European cities... rollerblading. Apparently everyone under 35 in Europe is an avid roller blader and they congregate at these "Hell Angels" type runs through the city during the summer.

My brother saw this as an opportunity of a lifetime...he left his Georgia driver's license with Dee Snider and...

picked up a slick set of skates...

and as I saw first hand, he is an excellent rollar blader...

He even managed to get me in a pair. Although the picture is blurry, rest assured I had no idea what I was doing...although Hollis was a supportive coach.


After a whirlwind tour of Germany, Hollis and I made it back it back to Strasbourg and the always breathtaking Cathedral of Strasbourg.

Of course no trip to Strasbourg is complete without paying a visit to Monkey Mountain.

Unfortunately I planned our trip just after our return from Munich. So the winding, climbing, curvy mountain roads to reach these pop-corn loving "free roaming" apes was cut short. However, Hollis did have an opportunity to get one-on-one with these curious guys.


After resting up in Strasbourg we set off for another adventure in the Vosges Mountains. Before leaving we stopped by the local market in order to pick up some snacks for the trip..



Hollis and I hiked up to Le Honeck in the Vosges and enjoyed the splendid views.

My brother has never met a stranger...

The hike was fun and offered some excellent views of the Munster valley.




Of course no mountain climbing expedition is complete without throwing something off the edge of a cliff...

Our picnic was excellent as well. Dried sausage, baguette and a strong french cheese.

From our picnic spot we spotted an auberge. Usually these places serve some of the best cuisine in France in addition to the amber beers of Alsace, but to get to this watering hole we had to wade our way through some of the locals...


The reward for a tough day on the mountain was a tasty Alsacian amber with a tremedous view of this beautiful country.


For our "encore" of his trip, Hollis and I discovered a different way to see Strasbourg...by canoe.



We lazily paddled our way through the Ill River and saw the European institutions from a different point of view..




Overall my brother's trip was great. We got to spend a whole week together and see some of the best parts of Europe while having a little fun along the way. Thanks for a great time Hollis!