What a daaaaaaaayyyyy.......

First thing yesterday morning, we dashed into Basel in a last-ditch attempt to find Katy a dress for the banquet that evening. This whole episode requires a very long explanation as to why in the world we were looking for a dress the morning of the banquet, however, I will not bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that within 10 minutes of being dropped off downtown, Katy had found a dress and we met up with Howard about 10 minutes after that. Our multiple prayers had been answered and we were all very, very thankful, and somewhat relieved!
We zipped home in time for me to get out to a guys' dorm to cut some hair. My clients were ready and waiting, and in about an hour and 45 minutes I had cut, thinned and cleaned up 7 heads.
I just love cutting hair for these great guys. There are always lots of laughs along the way.
The results. Unfortunately the guy sweeping up had cleaned all the lint out of the broom by the time I remembered to take a picture. Sorry about that.
Home for lunch and a quick break before heading up to the girls' dorm where we sub. When I arrived there, the "Starry Night Salon" was well underway. The dorm mom gets several women to come up to the dorm the day of the banquet to help the girls get ready. It's always great fun.



Beth got in on it from the other side this year by helping with hair.


After three hours at the dorm, we rushed over to take pictures of the girls who were almost ready when we arrived. This pre-banquet picture-taking tradition goes way, way back.
I didn't get a decent picture of Katy with her date, so here she is with her friend's date for the evening.


Aren't they just so lovely?!?!

I almost forgot to add that after that incredibly full day, Howard and I went over to the banquet for the program later that evening. A good time was had by all.

Almost

I have been sewing Christmas gifts for the last several weeks. I am almost finished and I'm also almost done in! But, it's been fun, for the most part. I cannot post everything I've been doing just yet, but here's a small sample of what's left...
This is something I can post. It's a bag I made for my English student. It was a much bigger and more complicated project than I had imagined it would be. But I suppose if I had had a pattern it would have made the job much simpler.
But, I am very pleased with how it turned out.
And I hope Barbara will be too!

Our neighbours

Yesterday this was our neighbour's window box full of red geraniums. By late morning today it had been transformed into a winter scene. However, this is only part one. One evening before the first advent, they will unveil part two and many from the neighbourhood will come by for a short program (complete with a story and singing accompanied by the guitar), hot drinks and Christmas goodies. They will have created a Christmas scene on the window and will have completely changed the "set" in front. This is an amazing and lovely couple. He is a retired Lutheran minister and is full of energy and the joy of life. I saw him out measuring the window the other day and I can only imagine that what will go up this year will be another magnificent creation.

Snow day

Yesterday Katy made the comment that when it snows here, it's almost always during the night. That's certainly true. I guess because it's generally so mild here that when it does cool down enough for snow, it's in the night. So yes, this morning we woke up to a very white day. There's not much on the ground, but as far as the girls are concerned, there's enough to go sledding. So, as I write, the girls and some of their friends are at the "sledding hill" at the golf course for some night sledding. They were layered to the max, so if they take some tumbles on the very thin skiff of snow, they should be well protected!
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He's been released

Not long after my last post, our friend, as his brother-in-law wrote, "was released". Please continue to pray for this family as they walk through this "valley of the shadow of death". We know that God will continue to be faithful to them, especially now in these very dark days.

A sad day

We received news last night that a friend and former colleague of ours is in his final days of his battle with ALS. This news touches us and this community deeply as this family was with us here in Germany for a few years, and also has family here that still work with us.
Looking at these pictures of our beautiful town reminded me today of how this couple loved to walk for hours exploring the Black Forest. These were precious memories that they took with them when they left here.
If you think of it today, please pray for this family as they face this incredibly difficult time together. There will be four children left without a father, and of course, a wife without a husband.

Just up the hill from the dorm we sub at is a garden with a tree house that waves the Brazilian flag. The garden belongs to a couple - he is German, she is Brazilian - and they have one redheaded boy. I met Ingrid several years ago and enjoy chatting with her whenever our paths cross downtown. She grew up in Brazil speaking German so coming here, at least linguistically, was not difficult.
Last May I introduced myself to some Brazilians in the grocery store, and now I'm teaching one of them English! She is 12 and a delightful child. We have great times together.
We have been thrilled over the years with the Brazilian contacts we have been able to make while living here in Germany. There is still a large part of our hearts which feels very warm toward Brazil and Brazilians (especially our own 2 "brasileiras"). Seeing a Brazilian flag out of the blue or hearing Portuguese on the street is such a bonus for us. We often wonder what lies ahead for us in relation to Brazil. It's an exciting thought!

Santa Claus is IN town!

The Christmas post office in Himmelspforte, Germany, officially opened for the season on Monday, Nov. 10. Last year, around 280,000 children mailed their Christmas wish lists to Santa. The address is: Santa Claus, Christmas Post Office, 16798 Himmelspforte, Germany. Here, Santa Claus is seen riding the bike that mail carriers typically use in Germany.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night was the night for all the dorms to celebrate Thanksgiving. When I arrived early to help, things were well in hand...


The chef (no really, he is a real chef!) and dorm dad was busy, busy, busy! And, we heard later that he had been busy ALL day.
Fresh buns and pies. Wow.
Kristi came down to help Ellie and me get the snack trays ready.
Sweet potatoes.
More pies.
Three amazing RAs - Lizzy, Bonnie and Ellie.
In the midst of all the noise and excitement, poor Hannah was trying to sleep off a bad headache.
Lizzy invited her brother Eric (also a student at BFA) for the festivities.
Not sure if Naomi was really enoying Kaitlyn's ear massage techniques!
Salad prep.
Eating BEFORE the meal. I ask you, was this necessary?
The tables were beautiful.


The food looked pretty good too.
And tasted amazing. This was not my plate. It belonged to Howard, the pepper guy. It seems that he enjoys his food this way. I say, each to his own!
Thank you to Les and Elva for preparing and hosting this incredible meal. We all enjoyed ourselves to the max!