Wrapping Up 2006 With some Family News
You may (or may not) have noticed that I've been posting a lot less the last few months. One of the major reasons for this is the e-Blogger (the service I use) has Upgraded itself to version 2.0. While this has resulted in some neat new features being added to the 'blog (note the Interactive "Blog Archive" and "Labels" sections that have appeared recently) it also meant that the service that I use to upload photos -- called "Hello" -- has stopped working with e-Blogger; which is stupid, because they're BOTH owned by Google!
However, after a few concerted hours of poring over the Help File with this new version, I found out there's a way to directly upload pictures to the 'blog without using Hello. Case in Point:
Julian is driving now. He's actually quite good at it, too. He drove to and from church this morning with only a few small problems (keeps forgetting to check over his shoulder before changing lanes -- that'll hurt him someday.)
Julian and i went to Oktoberfest in, actually, November, here in New Braunfels Texas. If you think a town named "New Braunfels" sounds like it was settled by German settlers, you're exactly right on. For some reason south Texas attracted Germans like flies to honey (as we say down here.) We've got German-as-german-can-be communities like St. Hedgwig, New Braufels, and Castroville (settled by folks from the Alsace-Lorraine valley -- which means they speak a weird mish-mash of german and french -- that Ariane and I understand pretty well.) In fact, south Texas is home to Texas Lutheran University -- the second largest Lutheran school in the U.S. -- right after Valparaiso University. Behind Julian are the falls that power the Grist Mill the german settlers operated in early new Braunfels (look lower left in the shadow.)
And besides the fabulous pastries . . . the Incredible knockwursts and bratwursts and bloodwursts and schnitzels and strudels and turkey legs (guaranteed to drive my blood sugar through the roof) -- besides the margarita booths side-by-side with the german beer booths . . . . there were a lot of guys in lederhosen, like this guy. He was actually part of a band playing waltzes and oom-pah music and Heavy on the Accordian stuff -- most of which was playing in one of TWO circus tents set up for that -- as well as an honest-to-God Oktoberfest-type hall with a wooden dance floor and wood paneling and arches and ceiling, with plaques with the coats of arms of all the major families that settled New Braunfels.
Wonderful - truly magical. Reminded me of the one Oktoberfest I attended in Belgium. Very authentic! I saw this guy waiting in the line for fried -potatoe -somethings that were just incredible. Julian tried to weasel the recipe out of a very cute blonde girl wearing a St. Puli Girl type-dress, but to no avail.
A few weeks later Julian once again cooked Thanks- giving dinner for the family. Ariane wanted me to make the twice-baked garlic potatoes (featured prominently mid-center in the photo -- A-hem!) and the pies are store-bought, but Julian made the roast, the veggies, and the trimmings.
Not long after Thanks- giving we lost one of out cats, Poupette (pronounced "Pooh-Pet" -- it's french for "little doll.") She was 17 years old and the most unusual cat I've ever been owned by. (Yeah, like you thought humans owned cats -- shows how much you know!) She was half-siamese so she had an unusual amount of curiosity and intelligence for a cat. Whenever I called home she would meow into the phone while Floune talked to me, or vice versa. She used to climb in Julian's crib as a baby and would be very protective of him -- almost like at 'watch-cat" until he went off to school. In he later years she had problems swallowing and hyperthyroidism which left her painfully thin and frail. When she couldn't sleep and cried all night in pain, we knew it was time.
Best damned cat I ever had -- and that's saying something.
Have I mentioned how much I love south Texas? 65 degrees on new Year's Eve. Beautiful gentle breezes and sunny afternoon.
Work and school are going surprisingly well for both of us. Ariane got the maximum raise (yet again) from Univeristy Hospital for her excellent work and team- player ethic. She's really the glue that holds her little clinic together. She got three A's and one B in her classes (the B was in Anatomy Lab). I've gotten several positive comments at my new clinic and told just Friday that they're very happy with my work, as well as several positive comments from the patients (which always looks good for your boss.) I got an A in my Anatomy Lab and had an A in Chemistry until I had to drop it for health reasons -- but more on that next month when I know more.
See You Next Year!
