Some shoes with a story to tell

Last Thursday I went across the line to Switzerland to buy gas. This is something we always do as gas is considerably cheaper in Switzerland than here in Germany. (The price in Canadian dollars is approximately $2.38/l here and $1.83/l in Switzerland). So, it's worth the trip. Anyway, I pulled into the gas station and it was really busy, so I pulled up to a pump that required pulling the hose around the back of the van in order to reach the tank. No problem. I'd done that before. This time, however, the nozzle clicked off a few times before it finally settled into a position it liked, so it was pulling pretty hard.
I decided to wash the rear window while the van was filling. This, as it turned out, was not a smart decision. As I was running the squeegee over the window, I accidentally hit the hose, causing the nozzle to come flying out of the tank, spraying gas EVERYWHERE! I grabbed the nozzle and clicked off the gas, but by then the damage had already been done. I was parked by the tank closest to the store (and at this station it meant the store was about 2 feet from my van) so people going inside to pay had to walk right through the gas. I was mortified. I attempted to put more gas into the van but I was sliding all over the place. My shoes were disintegrating, leaving black streaks everywhere. They were full of gas and my legs were soaked. Fortunately I was wearing short pants otherwise my pants would have been wet too. I decided to abandon the idea of putting in more gas and just get out of there! I went in to pay, but I was leaving black footprints all over the mat in the store. Good grief! I went back outside, took off my shoes and came back in. The man at the counter wasn't even really upset with me. This probably happened all the time! Right. So I paid and went out and by then someone else had connected a hose to clean up the mess so I got him to spray me down. I used a week's supply of their paper towels to dry myself off and clean out my shoes a bit. I got into the van to leave and surprisingly the gas smell wasn't too strong at all. I decided I would finish my errands on the way home even though I was smelling somewhat like a gas station.
When I got home I first went up to the bathtub and scrubbed my legs and feet. That was the easy cleaning job. Next, my shoes. I scrubbed and scrubbed and used dish detergent and a brush and way too much water. Then I put them out in the sun to dry. They looked awful and still didn't smell too great. Once they were dry I put on two coats of polish and left them outside for a few days. Amazingly, they are almost as good as new. The left shoe is perfectly fine and the right shoe only has a slight hint of gasoline smell. The soles are somewhat thinner than they were originally, but they're okay.
So, there it is. Quite the adventure. I have a feeling I'll be extra careful in the future when I'm filling up the van...

It's a bird....

no, it's a plane...no wait, it is a bird...!It's a STORK! One summer there was a stork that flew over the swimming pool almost every time we were there. It only landed a few times but it kept things interesting. There is a stork reserve of sorts in a village just 3 km from Kandern. I should go there some day and take some pictures. There would be lots of baby storklets around I suppose...

Just random...

All the pretty garbage cans, nicely in a row...
Our neighbour's vine.
Our chives.
My perky purple pansy.

Viewer discretion advised

OK. This is really, really gross. I went out to the garden/gravel pit to make sure everything was still standing, and I came upon this slug graveyard. I was totally grossed out. I counted 11 dead slugs here with their slime - well as you can see - everywhere! They had somehow bypassed the beer trap but the Schneckenkorn (this is slug poison and I don't know what one calls it in English) seemed to have done the trick. At any rate, it is disgusting beyond words and I just HAD to share it with you all!

Weed killer

We live in an old house with an old yard and VERY old weeds! They are well-grounded...rooted...established. You get the picture. Anyway, last summer my mom gave me a recipe for a weed killer that works amazingly well. The weeds I killed with it last year have not reappeared. As you can see, now I need to get busy on the driveway.

Here's the recipe:
4 cups vinegar
1/4 cup salt
2 tsp dish detergent

Mix it up and put it in a spray bottle and off you go. Do not use it in the grass because it will kill the grass too!

Slug saga continues...

Well, I checked one of the traps before church this morning, and yes, there was a nice assortment of slugs in various sizes and colours. So far so good. Do I need to keep you posted? I don't think so. The traps seem to work and that makes me happy. Gut genug (good enough).

Our Bier Garten

So, it was time to get serious about the slug battle. I found these great traps on sale when I was at the greenhouse and the lady there said, "Ya, just put beer in them". So...
off we went to the store to buy a bottle of beer. Our agenda was to find the cheapest bottle. We thought the slugs probably wouldn't really be too discriminating. I'll let you know the results...

Kalte Sophie

Yesterday (May 15) was Kalte Sophie or The Cold Sophia. It was the last day of possible cold spring weather, and thus safe to plant gardens and set out flowers because there will be no more frost. At least, that's what they say! Sophia of Rome was a young woman martyred for her faith around 304 BC. Sophia was invoked as a patron saint against frosts that occurred late in the year and thus was called Kalte Sophie in Germany. She is considered to be one of the so-called Ice Saints.

These are just a few of the things I planted yesterday.

Lily of the Valley

Besides weeds, our front flower bed is full of Lily of the Valley. It too grows like a weed and can takeover a flower bed in no time. However, it's still a lovely little flower and when it comes up each spring, I sing the old hymn, "...He's the Lily of the Valley, the bright and morning star..." and I remember our wedding because we had this little flower embossed on our invitations. Happy thoughts.

Spargel-Strawberries-Uvas

"Spargel" is asparagus and in Germany they love it white, so they cover the crop mounds with plastic. I had never seen asparagus being grown so it was quite a surprise to me when I discovered what this "covered crop" was.
There are loads of U-pick stations in our area and many of them operate on an honesty basis as usually no one mans the booth and you just pay for what you take.
Here are some workers in a strawberry field laying down the straw. It's pretty labour intensive.


We also live in a grape-growing, wine-producing area. Grapes grown in this way were something new for us because in Brazil they are grown in canopies, and here each grape vine is separate and not allowed to grow together with the others. Still, when the vines are all filled in, it's a beautiful sight.

German scrapbook

Katy has been working on this German project since the beginning of the year...
...and today she finished! It is 102 pages long and its purpose is to be used as a guide for learning beginning German. What a project and what an accomplishment! We are proud of her!

Junior Senior Banquet

Last night was the Jr/Sr banquet which is the last big event for the senior class before grad. Howard and I went along as well (for our first time) and enjoyed the evening. Bethany's escort for the evening was Kristoff who is a great friend to her. They had the orange and white theme going so Kristoff even painted his shirt with acrylic paint to add to the colour scheme!
Beth with her friend Andrea, an MK from Portugal.
Bethany's closest friends.

The fantastic four...
Of course, no event is complete without a picture of these two - Beth and Meredith.