Mom's day

I woke up this morning to find several funky little pictures carefully placed around the house. Here are just a few of them.....






Beautiful handmade cards followed once the girls were up. My husband presented me with a lovely necklace from Portugal and yet another one of his word-crafted cards. It was a happy and teary morning for me and I loved it all!

A beautiful place to live

We really do live in a beautiful area. The farmers are busy getting their fields planted and I even saw one yesterday making his first cut of hay.

The hills around Kandern.
Kandern. That's the town's high school up on the hill.
A very happy sheep. Can you tell?

Apple Blossoms

I have been waiting and waiting for the apple blossoms to come out, and this week they are finally absolutely glorious.

Palmgarten Seniors

Tonight we enjoyed the company of the 7 seniors from Palmgarten, the dorm we sub at every Thursday evening. We had a great time and it was a pleasure to have these lovely young ladies in our home.

The monster concert

On Sunday afternoon we were treated to BFA's second last recital of the year. The talent at our school still amazes me even after all these years. The second half of the recital was what was referred to as "The Monster Concert". Several different pieces were played on the piano by several students at one time! Here is Bethany playing one of her pieces with 3 others - two each on two pianos. Other pieces featured 5 students playing on 5 pianos. It was another fresh idea by our very innovative music department head.

One more for May Day

When I was downtown the other day, I noticed that the fountain had also been decorated for May Day.

May Day Sunday

On the first Sunday in May we are awakened by the town band. It's tradition! This morning it was 7:30 when they walked by our house playing a lovely piece and I was ready for them!

The red-headed boy in the band is Christian, and belongs to my Brazilian friend, Ingrid. She has lived in Germany with her German husband for 16 years and I think at this point her German is definitely taking over her Portuguese.

Old Tulips

Our landlady told us a few years ago that the bulbs that produce these tulips are at least 30 years old. I think they are feeling their age because this spring they took even longer than ever to come up and then open. Yesterday they were finally completely out so I had to snap these pics so everyone could enjoy them.

Soccer/Track Meet

Yesterday was BFA's home track meet and another home soccer game. This day is always held in the city of Lörrach which is just 20 minutes or so from Kandern. It was a gorgeous day and lots of people came out to enjoy the events. I made up a batch of whoopie pies for the concession and spent an hour there helping out. I love doing that kind of thing.
Here the guys are getting ready to do their African chant, led by Serge, one of our African students.

Just two random fans...!

May Day

Today is May Day in Europe and what we know as "Labour Day" in North America. Every town and village still puts up a Maypole. We experienced this cultural event one year in a nearby town and it was quite thrilling, especially when the pole escaped the clutches of the men and almost caused a serious accident! This is our pole in Kandern.

Some poles are fancy...
and some are a bit more simple!

Small group

This has been Bethany's small group at BFA for the last 4 years. Here they are proudly displaying a piece of art that they created together. The blank canvas was provided by their leaders who, apparently, are going to hang it on their living room wall!

A Goodbye with Strawberry Tortes

It's that time of the year again when we are gearing up to say goodbye to a number of our staff. It has become somewhat of a tradition to do this with a Strawberry Torte Tea. Tuesday night, 18 of the 25 who are leaving at the end of the year were able to enjoy a last Janz Team event together. The tortes were delicious (I made them all but it is not my recipe so I am allowed to say they were "delicious!) and the time, though short, was sweet.