I am staying at the Hotel Hospiz in Tübingen and my room is very sweet. The room is on the fifth floor, which is the top floor and more or less the attic. The view out the window is of the tiled rooftops of the Altstadt (old town).
The window opens and the Federdecke is warm ... what could be better?
The bathroom is very modern
with the sweetest tile.
The conference sessions ended today at three and we left Blaubeuren, heading for Tübingen. On the way, we stopped at the Esslingen Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas market.
So many wonderful things to see
My favorite part was the medieval section, complete with strolling players and artisans demonstrating their crafts. I felt as if I were in Ombra with Fenoglio and Meggie.
The Germany trip is well underway. Paul and I flew to San Francisco on Saturday morning, then from San Francisco to Frankfurt, where we breakfasted in the Lufthansa First Class Lounge. It's good to fly with people who travel frequently. After a restful breakfast, we flew to Stuttgart, where we were picked up and driven by bus to the Heinrich Fabri Institute in Blaubeuren, site of the family meeting for study abroad advisors. Having not really slept on the plane, I was exhausted. Paul was committed to keeping me awake, however, gently but insistently tugging on my arm whenever my eyes closed, asking me if I was still awake. Paul's theory is that as soon as you step into a different time zone, you immediately embrace that time zone and never look back. We arrived in Germany around 9:30 am (12:30 am PST), therefore, Paul insisted that we stay up until the normal German bedtime. We arrived in Blaubeuren around 4 pm, checked into our rooms, then walked into the city. The streets, of course, are decorated with twinkling white lights for Christmas and it is all lovely. Around five, just as the church bells were chiming, we followed a group into the church, where an Advent concert was just beginning. We listened a bit to the harp and violin music but grew drowsy as we warmed up, so walked back to the Institute for a wonderful dinner of Rinderroulade mit Apfelrotkraut and Kartoffelspalten.
So far, Paul's theory seems to be working and, after going to bed around 9 pm, I woke up this morning feeling fairly refreshed. I stayed awake for the morning sessions, then everyone walked to the Blautopf, a cold water spring on the edge of the Kloster Blaubeuren.
The Kloster Blaubeuren is about 900 years old, built around 1085.
We spent a fair amount of time in the Kloster Blaubeuren, knowing that the meetings didn't start again until 4:15 pm.
On the way back to the Institute, we stopped and I bought a hair dryer to replace the one I toasted this morning in a 220 volt experiment that went terribly wrong. I fought off waves of drowsiness from 4:15 to 6:30 pm, when the meetings finally ended and we consumed yet more meat and potatoes.
I started this Tulips and Rosebuds Baby Blanket for Ryan's newest family member. Though a bit complicated, the pattern is a fairly straightforward combination of yarn overs, increases and decreases. No big deal. And I've used Fiber Trends patterns before. This particular pattern, however, highlights one of my weaknesses: when the stitch count changes, I depend on the pattern to tell me how many stitches I should have at the end of each row. Granted, this pattern did warn that the stitch count would change, but that was the end of the helpful advice. When I finished with the tulip border and started on the first row of rosebuds (after a number of rows), I discovered the stitch count was off and actually even discovered the missing yarn overs. I frogged back to the last row of the tulip border, added the missing yarn overs, and patiently proceeded.
When I started the third set of rosebuds, I discovered my stitch count was off again, this time due to a missing yarn over in the last row of the second set of rosebuds. Quite a ways back. And something had gone terribly wrong in the side tulip border. About this time my patience failed and on a whim I frogged the whole thing. The boys just stared in disbelief. At this point I should probably add that I work full time, have two teenagers and take care of my elderly mother ... so don't have a lot of time to knit without distraction. This pattern, I decided, requires more attention than I can give at this particular time in my life.
Or should I say Montana weekend? Craig's business trip to Montana required that he spend the weekend somewhere between Libby and Billings, providing the perfect opportunity for a mini-vacation. I flew to Missoula on Saturday morning, Craig picked me up at the airport and we drove to Yellowstone Park. Arriving at the North Entrance, we discovered that a bridge was out between Norris and Madison, and a fire intermittently closed the road between Bridge Bay and West Thumb. We decided to take our chances with the fire and luckily made it through Yellowstone to the South Entrance and on to Jackson, Wyoming, where we stayed at the Snow King Resort.
The plan for Sunday included the Grand Tetons and a trip back through Yellowstone, this time exiting at the Northeast Entrance with the final destination of Billings. Having heard about Jenny Lake from, well, Jenny--daughter of a Wyoming rancher who thought Jenny Lake was about the prettiest place he'd ever seen--we decided to check it out. Yep, it's worth the trip.
After driving through Grand Teton National Park, we entered Yellowstone at the South Entrance and very soon discovered that the forest fire had jumped the road at Bridge Bay, leaving only the West Entrance as an option for north-bound travelers.
Billings, in eastern Montana, was looking to be a bit farther than originally anticipated. As Craig explored our options using the GPS and chatting with Mr. Park Ranger, I took the new Nikon for a spin and walked through West Thumb, which provided a great view of the forest fire and Yellowstone Lake. Note to self: Take cell phone when walking toward a forest fire, in case spouse does not see where you are going and sends the park rangers out to look for you.
Old Faithful is located between the South and West Entrance and made the required detour an attractive option.
After setting up the camera and enlisting an elderly couple to keep an eye on it, Craig talked me into walking around Old Faithful to see the other hot springs. Just as we got to about the furthest point from Old Faithful, the geyser erupted, four minutes early according to Craig. Hence, no action shots of Old Faithful. Payback for allegedly disappearing into a forest fire? Nah, probably not.
As we approached the West Entrance, dozens of cars lined the road and we joined them, having learned that cars on the side of the road signaled wildlife and, therefore, photo opportunities. I tried out the telephoto lens and was pleased with the results.
We arrived in Billings after dark, slept a few hours, and were at the Billings airport at 5:00 am for my 6:00 am flight to Portland on Monday. Although I had marked myself out at work for the day, my original plan was to stop by the office on the way home from the airport and put in a few hours of work. Instead, I rolled for home and napped until the boys got home from school at 4 pm.
Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE my neighborhood? And my neighbors? It makes me happy to walk out of my front door and into the whimsical world of Tin Man. That's what Nancy and her father Frank have named their garden art business. These birdhouses look so cool, tucked beside a butterfly bush or in a grove of birches. And they also look pretty cool just sitting in the driveway, readying themselves for the next summer art fair.
Both Sarah and Cindy had birthdays on Tuesday, providing a good reason to celebrate, and I was on holiday Monday, providing ample time to bake. I stopped by the Decorette Shop to pick up some cupcake liners and couldn't resist this stand. It holds 24 Fairy Cakes, which I think is a much cooler name than mini cupcakes. I also bought some Ghirardelli Chocolate Sprinkles, made with chocolate liqueur instead of, well, whatever those tasteless chocolate grocery store sprinkles are made of. The Milk Chocolate Dream Cakes were my favorite, although the Cream Soda Toffee were also very good. Both recipes are keepers and have earned a spot in the Favorites Cookbook. More on that project later.
