Beautiful Germany

Yesterday I once again taught a job-related class with over 30 pilots in attendance.... and received lots of applaus at the end! (amazing, considering I'm one of those feared "Feds" lol). This coming season will be my last before I retire, and next winter the last for classes, and it does feel a bit odd. Will I miss teaching these classes? maybe....

The weather was marvelous and on the drive home I made a stop to see a monument I didn't even knew existed... I drove to the spot to catch a nice view over the Rhine River and found the monument with a small, rebuilt temple. There is still so much to see in my "home" country.... and believe me, I really do appreciate being able to live here.

This is a view of the Rhine and the rebuilt "temple"...

These are some of the original pillar stones. The original temple got destroyed in WW II.

And this is a picture of the monument itself. It's in the process of being renovated but is quite impressive....

Dorrie

Fasching / Carnival 2011

I know, it's been a while since I've written here (or anywhere for that matter). I just don't seem to have the blogging bug that I used to (I still miss JS!).

It's now Ash Wednesday and carnival season is once again over. This year I didn't participate much... one evening event and the parade yesterday. For a change we had PERFECT weather for the parade... blue skies, comfortable temperatures, no wind! Normally it snows and we freeze to death while standing around, but this year Ash Wednesday is later in the year then usual, March instead of February, and that helps. Unfortunately I had a slight cold (*snif* *hatchee*) which spoiled some of the fun. Anyway, here are a few pictures for your entertainment! lol

This is little Tamara with me (in the blue as an Egyptian) and my daughter, Regina....

and with Emely...

The fun part is seeing all the fantastic costumes, like these walking ice cream cones..

or these "fire birds"...

I have vacation all this week and I'm using it to relax, load up my battery, and get some stuff done like doc appointments setup, etc. I've been doing some reading plus lots of this 'n' that. I really needed this time off... *sigh*

Dorrie

time for an update?

Still busy.... lol

As I mentioned in my other entry, my daughter's best friend, Carina, and her 2 1/2 yr. old son, Samuel, stayed with me for a few days. It went quite well... both were easy care. Samuel is such a sweety!! This is Carina and Samuel....

As expected, Carina needed a substitute mom to talk to. We had some very long talks while Samuel was in bed and I hope it helps her. Her life is pretty upside-down at the moment.

My class on Saturday went quite well.... and the next class is this coming Saturday at a town located 1 1/2 hours from home. THAT will be a loooooong day! And after that I have a ticket for a Fasching/Carnival/Mardi Gras event. *sigh* Yep, it's that time of year again.

Last Sunday we celebrated Priyasha's second birthday. Carina and Samuel came along, since Carina and my son grew up together so they are not strangers. It was a fun afternoon with ALL my grandkids around me!

The birthday girl... isn't she SWEET??

Tamara and Shiana are turning into real little ladies!

And Emely's a clown...

OK, that's an bit of an update since I've been neglecting this place (and all my other blogging sites).

Dorrie

Busy days....

And as if I don't have enough going on...... yesterday the best girl friend of my daughter came to stay with me, together with her 3-year old little boy! I know, I know... it's hard for me to say no! lol

I've known Carina forever... she grew up with Regina, they went to school together, and she was a member of my children's dance class. She is now married with 3 kids, but the marriage is shakey and has been on and off for some time. She has lost soooo much weight (she was never heavy to begin with) and needs to get away from home for a couple of days. Since Regina has no room to put her up, she asked if I would. And, as I said, I can't say no!

I had to work in the morning. Her hubby brought them to Regina's place during her lunch break (she had to work all day as well), then I picked them up there. Her hubby is all for the visit. I had the guest room all set up so that's no problem.

I had to be gone all day Saturday, but she visited with Regina and other girl friends from her home town (she actually doesn't live far from here, but has no car ... her hubby doesn't earn much and needs the car himself).

Carina may also need a good "neutral" girl talk with someone who's been almost a mom to her (me). Her own mom died when she was young of complications with MS. I knew her mom and was a witness to her decay.... and I can only imagine how hard it was for Carina. Her dad and older brother brought her up. Now her dad also has MS! Anyway, I'll see how it goes.

Those who know me know that I'm always willing to help if asked and if I can, whether it's in real life, like in this situation, or in internet (ah, the JS for Dummies days, layouts, etc. ... and later KCL).

Saturday, as mentioned, I was gone most of the day. I had a class of over 40 people to teach. It's a class for airfield traffic advisors. It was fun (*sigh* all those guys! lol) and went quite well. I had planned to visit a lady pilot's event at a town in the complete opposite direction, but I was too tired so I came home instead.

On Sunday I'll be visiting my son, together with Regina and family, possibly bringing Carina and her boy along, to celebrate Priyasha's second birthday! I visited them the other day....

 

little chocolate face heehee

Her mom arrived back from Mumbai with Shiana on Thursday.


Did I mention I'm busy??

Dorrie

Flying around...

Last Saturday, after dropping Tamara off, I decided to stop by the local flying club. It's the same club that I'm a member of since 1983 and where I first learned to fly. One of my buddies, Michael, was there and invited me along for a local roundtrip together with one of his friends. Since the weather was fantastic, I jumped at the opportunity.

This is a view just after take-off of the now empty American army base... it has been deserted for around 2 years now.

More and more wind farms are being set up everywhere, destroying the looks of our beautiful landscapes...(can you catch that I don't like them? lol)

We flew over the Main and Neckar rivers, wanting to see how the flooding was. In the mean time the rivers are pretty much back to normal, as you can tell (this is the Main River near Miltenberg).

A view of one of the many castles/fortresses that are found all over the place....

The balloonists were taking advantage of the weather as well...

Today I won't go to work until noon because I have a job thing to do during night time, which includes a flight (checking the night lighting at an airfield). The past days the weather was cloudy with some now melted snow, today looks promising.

On the weekend I think I finally get some much needed housework done...

Dorrie

Tamara's visit

In my apartment there's a "hiding place".... a space behind a smaill door behind the living room couch. It was already carpeted when I moved in and also has a light. I've made it into a play space for the kids, complete with books, writing and drawing utensils, and puzzles. The kids love it!

As promised, I made a little dress for Tamara's Monchichi doll. While sitting at the sewing machine, Tamara played with her doll as well as other various stuffed animals. It was VERY interesting to hear her "conversations" with them.... I wished I had a tape recorder! It was very imaginative and perhaps an insight into her daily life, for example; her doll asking another doll to play, the other doll not having any time. Then her Monchichi was invited by a pilot doll..."the best pilot in the whole world"... to join him on a flight, complete with loopings. Afterwards, the Monchichi "reported" about it at "school".

Tamara loves to read! She found a little book in my bookcase and started reading it.... and finished it before she had to leave! At school (first grade) her teach says she reads at at 11 year old's level!

After I dropped her off at her dad's, I stopped by the local flying club and a pilot friend invited me on a flight. Since the weather was fantastic (but coooold), I decided to go along.

But that's for a different entry.

Dorrie


Dorrie

Vote for me!!

Some of you may remember that in December 2009 I went on my first cruise. It was to the Canary Islands and it was fantastic!

Last May I took a cruise to Greece with a different cruise line, but it wasn't half as good as with AIDA! They now have a new ship to be christened/baptised in April and they are looking for the person to do the honors. Starting today, applications can be sent in. Well, mine is sent in and now I need YOUR help.

If you have a facebook account, sign-in and follow the link below:

AIDA search: http://apps.facebook.com/AIDATaufpatin/gallery/profile/626334564

It will take you to my AIDA profile. Under the picture there's a button that says "Abstimmen".... CLICK ON IT! No, you don't have to pay for anything or get sign-up for something, this is an honest deal (I normally don't play ANY games or such... but I would LOVE to win this!.... who wouldn't? Prizes include not only the party to introduce the ship, but also a free cruise on it!). Sorry about it being in German, but it IS a German company...

If you want to see more pictures of my trip with the AIDA, follow this link.

So start voting!!

Dorrie