Reunited!

I'm so excited that Melissa is here and that we're going to Disneyland Paris tomorrow!

Melissa is my long-time friend from high school. We have never, as far as I can recall, had a break in our friendship. She and her mom put up with me many, many weekends in high school. I worked with them at the Clearfield drive-in sometimes in the summer. I remember being so tired (that's my excuse) that I asked a man what he wanted on his pepperoni pizza. Of course he looked at me like I was an idiot, but then he said "pepperoni" for my benefit.  As I walked away, I realized why I got that look from him. Lol. So embarrassing!

I was in her wedding ~twenty years ago! Her husband (before they were married) and I used to stay up late together and watch movies and listen to or talk about music. Melissa and her family (including her mom!) probably have no idea how important they were to me back then, and what a special place in my heart they occupy today because of it. But the thing is, I haven't really hung out with them much since joining the Navy. We've kept in touch, but only probably averaged about once a year or less of actual visits. It's a busy world! And of course, every time I see them, it's like we were never apart. I'm so excited to have her all to myself (with 5 other people, of course) for two weeks!!

Tomorrow we are planning to leave at 0500 and go to Disneyland. I hope it's going to go fine. Thursday until now two of the kids (Alex and Lilly) were quite sick with a fever and nausea. I REALLY hope and pray that Griffin and Livvy don't get it. Seeing them sick in Disneyland would make me so sad! But time will tell!!

Today, of course, I took Melissa to Frankfurt. It was really rainy and then on the way home, we drove through a giant storm. Glad we didn't get stuck outside in that! It was a pretty nice day though, visiting the cathedral and going to the Goethe House. Those are two great places to visit, especially if you don't have a lot of time in Frankfurt.

Right now, I'm sitting at home with Lilly watching Blippi. This house is a pretty big fan of the silly man. I think right now Lilly calls him Utchi. (Or Ew-chi.) She sings his and Nicky Notes' songs, and it's pretty cute. Right now, she's dancing because he is. She's so little and cute. I certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

A nice breakfast at the Schirn Cafe

Inside the Frankfurt Cathedral

Part of the story of Christ inside the cathedral

Inside the Goethe house.  Looks like someone had an obsession with bundt cakes.

Window box.  I love the warped glass.

Wallpaper inside the Goethe house.  This reminded me a little bit of some
patterns I saw in Hemingway's house in the FL Keys.

Worms!

By that, I mean the city in Germany where Luther was accused of being a heretic, not that my kids are infected with something alive like they were in this post, fortunately!

I mentioned that I was meeting my first boss in the Army for the first time since 2007. It was so fun to see and to catch up with Greg for the first time in over ten years. Worms is a small sightseeing location, but I was looking for something not too far from his hotel since I knew I was going to have an arduous day of travel the day before. (And it turns out, so did he.)

It was such a nice day! We saw several statues, including the memorial to Luther that had been built in the 1800s, two churches, and the Rhein River. The kids were NOT on their best behavior today, and that was frustrating, but it was probably at least in part due to the fact that I had been gone all week. We had a nice dinner at the Schnitzel Hut, which included, for perhaps the first time in anything except Italian restaurants around here, a genuine kids' menu. The kids got hamburgers, and they looked delicious!

After the Catholic Church declared Luther a heretic, he escaped in disguise to a remote castle, where he continued to write prolifically. He was, I read, one of the first people of fame who was not royal (we're talking 1521 for the Diet of Worms), and his friends helped get his papers printed and distributed throughout Germany.

Luther didn't intend to start a spiritual revolution. He wasn't seeking fame. But God used him in such a way that resulted in so many people knowing God personally as opposed to only knowing Him through a priest. How will God use you?  He already knows!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  -Jeremiah 29:11

Inside Cathedral of St Peter

Ouch, dude.

Left: Cathedral of St Peter, Right: Church of St Martin

Proof: They love each other!

Martin Luther Memorial

World War I Memorial

Nibelungenturm. Pretty Place.

On the plane

I can't believe I'm going to the U.S. today. I'm working through a weird sense of disbelief about it. Today and tomorrow I'm going to see my family! This week I'm going to spend time with my mom! I'm going to see my house! And I'm going to have Chick Fil A for the first time in about 15 months! I'll be able to speak English everywhere! That's ünglaubliches!!

It's going to be a crazy week. I'm actually coming for some training, and it's not even a boondoggle. I'm going to a class that gives me a certificate in U.S. National Security Risk Analysis. I think it's going to be a good, and potentially tough, class. Mom is going to spend some time with me and visit D.C. while I'm at class. I have about 36 hours, including 8 hours or more of driving, to see the rest of my family. It's going to be a tough weekend, but won't it be wonderful?

My incredibly fabulous sister is hosting brunch so that I can see Dad and Debbie and I think Steven, Kailey, and her husband. I'm so excited! First stop after getting the rental car is going to my sister-in-law's new house. Can't wait to see it and her and Pat and Jesse! This is such a blessing. And of course, thanks to David, who's holding down the fort for the week that I'm gone. He gets through it pretty well, usually, but it's been a while since I've been gone a whole week, and three of the kids are in school now, so there's a bigger morning hassle than he's used to from before. Good luck and thank you, honey!

I know I didn't give anyone but my family and two friends near to my training any advanced notice that I'm coming, and I hope you understand. My class doesn't let out until 1730 every day, and I'm spending every waking minute of free time with family (except Thursday when I'm getting ready to go home!), and I'm leaving on the Friday night red-eye flight. I do miss my friends! I'm hoping to have myself a big welcome home party next summer that I hope you'll attend!

For now, I'm blessed by this whirlwind of a trip home. I'm looking forward to the weekend and to the work week. Work has been so interesting lately, and so fast-paced, I can hardly keep up. That's the way I like it!

...I landed safely, and had an incredible dinner that my sister-in-law made with shrimp on the grill and delicious grilled vegetables. I also got to see Pat and Jesse, who got me a part for my van that I really needed and couldn't get from the incompetent Dodge dealer over there. Got to Michelle's and got to see my niece and meet her new husband. Stayed up until after midnight, which was effectively after 6:00 a.m. for me. Got a crazy deep six hours of sleep and am now looking forward to seeing my parents and spending more time with Michelle and Kailey today!!

...I've landed back in Frankfurt. It was such a good visit. My family made sure of it (especially Michelle. Thank you so much!). I didn't sightsee in DC like I had thought I would, but I got to spend time with Mom and one of my best friends, and that was lovely. The training was really good and interesting.

Oh yes. And you know I had Chick Fil A one day. And guess what? My memory had not inflated how good I think it is. It's so yummy!!

I'm so excited to see my family! And the weather is beautiful today, which is a nice respite from all the gray in DC from hurricane Florence. Tomorrow is exciting because I'm picking up my old boss for the day, and we're all going to Worms together. So cool!! No pictures in this post, but hopefully the next one!

Elderberry jelly

Sometimes you just have to do something simply because that's what Mom did.

The property I'm renting has these massive elderberry trees that I keep walking under. The berries were so beautifully ripe and sweet smelling. Every morning on my way to work, it made me think of my mom's elderberry jelly. I hated to see those luscious fruits going to waste, so I decided to make some of my own.

First things first, I had to verify that they were, indeed, elderberries. I ate two and didn't die. That was a good sign! Then I was able to find their exact type online: York elderberries, which according to this website are good in climate zones 3-9, meaning they can be grown in many parts of the world, including some cold parts. Finding them online made me more confident, so I asked David to harvest three pots for me while I went grocery shopping and he drained the puddlin' pool.

He did as I asked, and I filled the sink with water and dumped the berries into the sink. GROSS! You don't want to know how many spiders climbed out of the sink, and various other insects. (I really should have read the comments!) Thankfully, Alex is quite the bug man, so I called him, and he caught some for his net and helped me keep watch for the others trying to make their escape. When he got tired, Griffin joined me.

It took me an hour and a half to fill the bowl as high as I did. I hate to say it, but I threw away almost two of the three pots David had picked. I'll know better next time, I guess! I followed the jelly-making recipe at this site, and am at the moment letting them drain. I have to go to the store tomorrow and buy some jars and lids. The PX didn't have any, although at one time they had. I'm hopeful that Globus will come through for me.

Did you know that elderberry seeds have cyanide in them? That sounds kind of dangerous. I don't know how much, but I tried to be careful about picking up any dropped berries so Lilly didn't put them in her mouth. I feel like I remember eating them straight from the bush when I was a child, though.

Did you also know that elderberries are thought to be a natural anti-viral? Some people take elderberry syrup at the onset of the cold or flu. (I think I'll be one of those people while I'm here. I'll make a small jar for myself if I have enough.) Right now, I'm just hoping my jelly turns out the way it's supposed to. I'm looking forward to giving some to my mom, who made me elderberry jelly when I was a kid, and my step-mom, who makes us delicious strawberry jelly every year, and my sister, who always shares her delicious sweet pickles (boy, I could go for some of those!). And of course my mother- and father- and sister-in-law if they want some.  It will be so nice to give back for a change!

...It took me a whole week, but I finally processed all of that juice into some delicious elderberry jelly.  I'm so happy about it!  And the Weck jars that I found at Globus are just adorable.  Thank God it all came together!

All that work amounted to 4 cups of liquid.  Woo hoo!