Country life

Cue the banjo….

I don’t feel like a country bumpkin… but sometimes it seems that I live deep in the country.  We live about 15 minutes away from ‘the city’.  It isn’t a huge city, but large enough.  When we go to the city (or come back) we drive past several corn/wheat fields, a cow farm, and a horse farm (I think…).  It isn’t unusual for tractors to cause traffic problems.  In our town we have 6 grocery stores within a 5 minute drive, a few clothing stores,  5+ bakeries, restaurants, florists, swimming pool, gas stations, etc. so it isn’t like we live in the middle of no where.  However, when I see something like the picture below, I begin to wonder… are we really country bumpkins….?

Actually, I think these hay sculptures are cute and pretty creative.  The little boy’s hat is made of two umbrellas.  The dad’s hat is made of an inner-tube and I think a bucket.  It took some time and effort to put these things together.  The city really likes them too – their sign says First Place. I suppose the “country life” is ok… but I think it would be better if I had a pickup truck.

Experiment in the Kitchen–Brigadeiros

I usually stick to making things I already know how to make – I might make a different recipe but it is usually something I already know how to make (I know how to make cookies, but I might use a different recipe from time to time).  Today I tried something new – Brigadeiros.  They are a Brazilian treat that often made for birthday parties there (or at least that is what I have heard).  I watched a YouTube video about how to make them and I think they turned out quite well. They are a bit like little balls of fudge.  They are small and easy just to pop in your mouth.  Now that I have made them, I might think about making them again.  Robin liked them too :)

Quick trip to Auerbach Castle

We made a short trip to the ruins of a castle near by.  You can climb up in the towers and have a nice view of the area.  Robin went up the tower before me and took this picture.

Then he took this picture of me down below looking awesome.  Notice something a little strange about my skirt?  It was windy at the castle, but I expected that and planned ahead.  My solution? Hair clip things… I clipped the sides (and eventually the middle) of my skirt to keep it from flying up.  I am quite the trend setter….

Meet Mondeo

It’s a Ford.  It was looking for a new home last week, so we took it in. We are taking good care of it – we have it registered, it got a bath, and was cleaned on the inside. We plan to treat it nicely, we hope it returns the favor.

It is a bit old – 1994, but low on miles (92,000 km or 166,000 miles).  Only had one owner, who was obsessed with keeping it tidy – the whole floor has been covered with at least one layer of protective carpeting (in some places there is more than one layer). So far, it works great.

Biggest Spider EVER

Meet Hans – probably the biggest spider I have ever seen.  He has a small body and skinny legs, but he is about 4 inches across. HUGE! Luckily, he is outside.  We have an agreement, Hans stays outside and we leave him alone.  If Hans comes inside… well… it would be better for him if he just stays outside.

Super Robin

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Super Robin!!! Holding up boulders 6 times his size.

(Robin loves it when I put pictures of him on the blog )

I {heart} Squirrels

I like squirrels.  I think they are cute.  The squirrels here are different than the ones I am used to seeing  in Washington – instead of grey, the squirrels in this area are brown-reddish.  When they sit up and look right at you their ears stick up like horns. The German word for squirrel is Eichhörnchen… most Americans have trouble saying that… but Germans also struggle with the word squirrel. 

Robin and I saw a squirrel while we were out for a walk.  Luckily, I was able to get a picture before he ran away.

Another Mystery Flower

Well, the common consensus on the first mystery flower was that it is a sunflower. Or, was a sunflower. It has since gone the way of other flowers and died (no, I didn’t kill it, it died of natural causes).  Now, there is a new mystery flower blooming in my flower box.

Any guesses?

Flock of Doves

One of the people who live near us has an interesting hobby – they keep doves.  When the weather is nice, the doves are sit out on the roof of the house.  Every so often they take off and fly in circles – round and round and round and round… and round. It is amazingly entertaining to watch the birds fly.  Some times they just fly in circles. Some times they fly in figure 8s.  They fly in unison and land in unison.  It is fun to watch.