Check out the belly from lil' baby Andre! More sonograms to come soon, and hopefully the gender as well! Ciao!
Monday, January 30, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
We Have a New Nephew!
Phil and I have officially become an auntie and an uncle! Phil's sister Carrie and her husband Andrew welcomed Cooper Olen Zentner to the world on Tuesday, January 17th around 9:30 pm (Central time). He weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and is in perfect health. Nonna Donna (Phil's mom) was able to make it to Chicago in time to see the birth of the first Andre family grandchild! He is so cute and we love him so much already!
Friday, January 06, 2006
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Christmas with da Ahnold (Schwartzenagger, that is)
Over the holiday break from school, Phil and I did some road traveling through Italy, Germany, and Austria. Italy was more or less for traveling through, as we just stayed a night at the Naples and Aviano bases to space out the driving on our way to Germany and Austria. It's quite amazing though how much the landscape changes while driving through Italy. We went from somewhat warm Sicily with its volcanic terrain and desert foliage, through the mountains covered with snow south of Naples (and the never ending construction on those winding mountain roads--people who have made this drive, you feel our pain), past the rows of fields and vineyards surrounding Rome and on into Toscano, then finally into the industrial flatlands with much more German-style architecture and driving (they actually stop at stop signs up there--a miracle!) with the Alps looming high in the background.
We were comforted to be spending Christmas in an area that closely resembled what Christmases had been for us all our lives--white snow, bundling up from the cold, evergreen trees. It was strange to be away from our families and friends, but also nice to be out exploring the world a little bit more. Our first non-base stayover took place in Burghausen, Germany with the Schlierf family. No, we didn't just knock on a stranger's door and ask them to shelter a pregnant woman and her husband for the night. Alois Schielrf works for Wacker Silicone in Burghausen and has the equivalent position there of what Phil's dad, Lee, does at Wacker in Adrian. So, they are family friends. We were well taken care of not only by Alois, but also his wife, Hannalore, and their two college-age daughters, Sonia and Andrea.
They walked us around the old town of Burghausen, which is very charming with lots of quaint independent shops in centuries old buildings as well as a castle that is claimed to be the longest castle in Germany. It sits high above the old town and is well lit up at night. Apparently, people actually live in the many buildings of the castle. The houses are passed down from generation to generation and are not easily attainable any other way. It is quite an honor to be a resident of the castle grounds. After our long walk, we warmed up with a traditional Bavarian dinner back at the Schlierfs house. I wish I could remember the names of all the dishes, but all I can remember are spetzle and blukraut. The next day Andrea and Sonia took us to Salzburg in nearby Austria (Burghausen is situated on a river that seperates the German and Austrian border) for a taste of the Christmas markets quite popular in this area of the world. There you will find rows upon rows of booths offering wooden nutcrackers, smokers, tree ornaments, Mozart balls (chocolate balls with a layer of nougat and marzipan in the center), pretzels (even doughnut pretzels), and Gluhwein (a hot mulled wine). While we were there it began to snow, so we ducked inside the oldest tea house in Salzburg for warm drinks and cakes. We couldn't stay too long in town because we had to be back for dinner at another Wacker friend's house, Wolfgang Kisch and his wife, Consuela. Wolfgang actually lived in Adrian on Elm Street for about 4 years while doing work for Wacker. Now he is back at Wacker in Burghausen, and he and Consuela live in a beautiful new home in Austria, just across the river from the Schlierf's house. Wolfgang is from Austria and Consuela is originally from Romania, but they met on a cruise through the Caribbean and married soon after. Consuela works for a company that is a subsidiary of Wacker and also has an online business for a popular Romanian skin care line.
While we loved being invited into the homes of friends, we did have another destination to get to on our trip. We packed up and drove to the Austrian Alps for a week of skiing. The area where we stayed was only about 2 hours from Burghausen. We arrived on Friday afternoon to our beautiful hotel, Hotel Kalkstein, near the village of Kirchdorf in Tirol of Austria. The hotel was filled with families on their winter holiday from France, Austria, Great Britain, America, the Netherlands, etc. We met a lot of people who work on a NATO base in Brussels, Belgium and our table partners (we actually shared a table in the dining room with two others because of space) were a DODDS teacher from Germany and her daughter! It's a small world!
Phil and I signed up for a few days of ski lessons. Of course, I was in the "I've-never-been-on-skis-in-my-life" class and he was off to the intermediate class with our friends the Coreys from Sigonella. It was nice though because I met a lot of great people in my class and had really helpful and patient ski instructors. I stayed on the slope nearest to our hotel, but Phil was off to a few different ones. He actually went skiing with Sonia and Alois for a day when they came to visit. I enjoyed my lessons much more than I had anticipated and definitely want to try it again next year. We had such a good time here because everyone took such good care of us. A gift was left for us in our room on Christmas Eve, the hotel had very fancy Christmas meals arranged as well as activites to keep people busy like sleigh rides, tobaggining, etc. On our last day we took a break from skiing and ventured back to Salzburg. There we visited the town's fortress/castle, Mozart's birthplace and the home where lived in his late teens and twenties, and the church where he used to play the organ as a teenager.
We drove back on Friday and Saturday of last week. School started on Tuesday, so it's back to work we go! Oscar was very glad to see us and now we are watching the neighbor's dog so they can go on their vacation. It's a school night, so I must say Adieu for now. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
To see more photos from our trip, click on the link to our Yahoo Photos. If it takes you to a log-in screen, our log-in is "ajaphilip" and the password is 'oscarwilde". Enjoy!
We were comforted to be spending Christmas in an area that closely resembled what Christmases had been for us all our lives--white snow, bundling up from the cold, evergreen trees. It was strange to be away from our families and friends, but also nice to be out exploring the world a little bit more. Our first non-base stayover took place in Burghausen, Germany with the Schlierf family. No, we didn't just knock on a stranger's door and ask them to shelter a pregnant woman and her husband for the night. Alois Schielrf works for Wacker Silicone in Burghausen and has the equivalent position there of what Phil's dad, Lee, does at Wacker in Adrian. So, they are family friends. We were well taken care of not only by Alois, but also his wife, Hannalore, and their two college-age daughters, Sonia and Andrea.
They walked us around the old town of Burghausen, which is very charming with lots of quaint independent shops in centuries old buildings as well as a castle that is claimed to be the longest castle in Germany. It sits high above the old town and is well lit up at night. Apparently, people actually live in the many buildings of the castle. The houses are passed down from generation to generation and are not easily attainable any other way. It is quite an honor to be a resident of the castle grounds. After our long walk, we warmed up with a traditional Bavarian dinner back at the Schlierfs house. I wish I could remember the names of all the dishes, but all I can remember are spetzle and blukraut. The next day Andrea and Sonia took us to Salzburg in nearby Austria (Burghausen is situated on a river that seperates the German and Austrian border) for a taste of the Christmas markets quite popular in this area of the world. There you will find rows upon rows of booths offering wooden nutcrackers, smokers, tree ornaments, Mozart balls (chocolate balls with a layer of nougat and marzipan in the center), pretzels (even doughnut pretzels), and Gluhwein (a hot mulled wine). While we were there it began to snow, so we ducked inside the oldest tea house in Salzburg for warm drinks and cakes. We couldn't stay too long in town because we had to be back for dinner at another Wacker friend's house, Wolfgang Kisch and his wife, Consuela. Wolfgang actually lived in Adrian on Elm Street for about 4 years while doing work for Wacker. Now he is back at Wacker in Burghausen, and he and Consuela live in a beautiful new home in Austria, just across the river from the Schlierf's house. Wolfgang is from Austria and Consuela is originally from Romania, but they met on a cruise through the Caribbean and married soon after. Consuela works for a company that is a subsidiary of Wacker and also has an online business for a popular Romanian skin care line.
While we loved being invited into the homes of friends, we did have another destination to get to on our trip. We packed up and drove to the Austrian Alps for a week of skiing. The area where we stayed was only about 2 hours from Burghausen. We arrived on Friday afternoon to our beautiful hotel, Hotel Kalkstein, near the village of Kirchdorf in Tirol of Austria. The hotel was filled with families on their winter holiday from France, Austria, Great Britain, America, the Netherlands, etc. We met a lot of people who work on a NATO base in Brussels, Belgium and our table partners (we actually shared a table in the dining room with two others because of space) were a DODDS teacher from Germany and her daughter! It's a small world!
Phil and I signed up for a few days of ski lessons. Of course, I was in the "I've-never-been-on-skis-in-my-life" class and he was off to the intermediate class with our friends the Coreys from Sigonella. It was nice though because I met a lot of great people in my class and had really helpful and patient ski instructors. I stayed on the slope nearest to our hotel, but Phil was off to a few different ones. He actually went skiing with Sonia and Alois for a day when they came to visit. I enjoyed my lessons much more than I had anticipated and definitely want to try it again next year. We had such a good time here because everyone took such good care of us. A gift was left for us in our room on Christmas Eve, the hotel had very fancy Christmas meals arranged as well as activites to keep people busy like sleigh rides, tobaggining, etc. On our last day we took a break from skiing and ventured back to Salzburg. There we visited the town's fortress/castle, Mozart's birthplace and the home where lived in his late teens and twenties, and the church where he used to play the organ as a teenager.
We drove back on Friday and Saturday of last week. School started on Tuesday, so it's back to work we go! Oscar was very glad to see us and now we are watching the neighbor's dog so they can go on their vacation. It's a school night, so I must say Adieu for now. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
To see more photos from our trip, click on the link to our Yahoo Photos. If it takes you to a log-in screen, our log-in is "ajaphilip" and the password is 'oscarwilde". Enjoy!
Saturday, December 17, 2005
The Calm After the Storm
During the downpour of rain that we received here in Sicily over this past week, we didn't catch many glimpes of Mt. Etna. She was usually surrounded by angry storm clouds, but this morning, as I looked out of our 3rd floor window, I could actually see the top, and what a sight! There is a thick blanket of snow now further down the slopes than I have ever seen! I guess all that nasty rain left behind a nice little surprise for us after all. To see some other pictures of this week's rain and cute stories, click on our friend Maryellen's blog site (in the right column). She's much better about updating her site than I am, so you can always check her out for a good read!
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Swingin' London
Well, I guess old news is better than no news......about a month ago, Phil was asked to go to the UK to learn about reading PSAT scores at an air force base. We decided that since this good ol' Uncle Sam was paying for his trip there, that I might as well tag along and we would make a little trip out of his training. So, for 2 days we hung out at Lakenheath Air Force base, a couple of hours away from London, where Phil learned about things like how many students understand the quadratic formula and I got to watch lots of British morning talk shows, including their own version of "The Jerry Springer Show". Somehow, people just don't sound as trashy talking about getting pregnant at 15 ON PURPOSE when they say it with such a nice accent! Once Phil completed the training, we traveled back to London and hit the town!
We stayed in a hotel in the Notting Hill area, amongst white pristine townhouses, colorful flats, and eclectic shops. To get there, we rode the train from Heathrow, where we dropped off the other teachers who had been traveling with us. Now, this train here in London is a trip! As if London is not expensive enough, they have their subway (the tube) system so cleverly worked out that you have to pay more money to ride through certain zones of the city! Now they know that most people want to get to where the action is, so that's all in Zone 1, aka Ground Zero for your wallet! It's genius, but also frustrating to an out-of-towner coughing up $5 for one train ride! I don't know how the average Londoner can afford to leave the house! I'd become a hermit there for sure.
Anywho, we had a lovely time. We went to the theatre on Friday night and saw The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, which is the longest running play in its 53rd year (I believe, but this could be a lie!) Now, anyone can tell you that I love me some Agatha Christie. In fact, I grew up reading all of her suspense stories about old ladies with sensible shoes and parlor maids being strangeled by a lunatic nephew, but she was not my first choice. After our first 2 choices fell through, that is what we were stuck watching. "Ewan McGregor, if you're out there and reading this, I really tried to see you in Guys and Dolls, honest!" But, it was a good show in a nice theatre and we had fun with all the other senior citizens visiting London.
On a crisp and suprisingly sunny Saturday morning we visited the market on Portobello Road, and darned if I couldn't stop singing the Sherman brothers classic "Portobello Road" from Bedknobs and Broomsticks all dang weekend! I don't know if this song takes over other people like it did to Phil and I, but it became really annoying after about the 76th time of hearing it repeated in my head (chorus only--I'm not that dedicated of an Angela Lansbury fan!) Portobello Road is a neat place and luckily it wasn't too far from our hotel, so we hauled our booty back, then hit the road in search of a double decker bus to drive us around to all of the sights.
This is probably the best way to get around and see the majority of the tourist attractions if you have a limited amount of time in which to do it, like we did. You can get off and on a bus all day long so you can actually get out and pose with the hundreds of other people in front of Big Ben or St. Paul's Cathedral. Sit on top, then you have a much better shot at taking somewhat decent pictures.
Now that we know how to get around and where most things are located, we will definitely be traveling back sometime soon. Now if a rich great aunt could just pass away and leave me a small fortune to spend wisely, I could actually afford to return to that great city of London.
We stayed in a hotel in the Notting Hill area, amongst white pristine townhouses, colorful flats, and eclectic shops. To get there, we rode the train from Heathrow, where we dropped off the other teachers who had been traveling with us. Now, this train here in London is a trip! As if London is not expensive enough, they have their subway (the tube) system so cleverly worked out that you have to pay more money to ride through certain zones of the city! Now they know that most people want to get to where the action is, so that's all in Zone 1, aka Ground Zero for your wallet! It's genius, but also frustrating to an out-of-towner coughing up $5 for one train ride! I don't know how the average Londoner can afford to leave the house! I'd become a hermit there for sure.
Anywho, we had a lovely time. We went to the theatre on Friday night and saw The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, which is the longest running play in its 53rd year (I believe, but this could be a lie!) Now, anyone can tell you that I love me some Agatha Christie. In fact, I grew up reading all of her suspense stories about old ladies with sensible shoes and parlor maids being strangeled by a lunatic nephew, but she was not my first choice. After our first 2 choices fell through, that is what we were stuck watching. "Ewan McGregor, if you're out there and reading this, I really tried to see you in Guys and Dolls, honest!" But, it was a good show in a nice theatre and we had fun with all the other senior citizens visiting London.
On a crisp and suprisingly sunny Saturday morning we visited the market on Portobello Road, and darned if I couldn't stop singing the Sherman brothers classic "Portobello Road" from Bedknobs and Broomsticks all dang weekend! I don't know if this song takes over other people like it did to Phil and I, but it became really annoying after about the 76th time of hearing it repeated in my head (chorus only--I'm not that dedicated of an Angela Lansbury fan!) Portobello Road is a neat place and luckily it wasn't too far from our hotel, so we hauled our booty back, then hit the road in search of a double decker bus to drive us around to all of the sights.
This is probably the best way to get around and see the majority of the tourist attractions if you have a limited amount of time in which to do it, like we did. You can get off and on a bus all day long so you can actually get out and pose with the hundreds of other people in front of Big Ben or St. Paul's Cathedral. Sit on top, then you have a much better shot at taking somewhat decent pictures.
Now that we know how to get around and where most things are located, we will definitely be traveling back sometime soon. Now if a rich great aunt could just pass away and leave me a small fortune to spend wisely, I could actually afford to return to that great city of London.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
August - October: Oh, How the Time Flies!
This is just unexcusable. I ought to be kicked out of this whole blogger business and just give up on my journalism dreams. If there is a rehab program for this kind of neglect, I want to be first on the list. I have gone 2 whole months without so much as a hello or a picture or anything. My apologies to all of you. Now, I am back on track and ready to write, so here goes......
Our time back in the States seems like ions ago. We spent our days visiting with friends and family, swimming at Devil's Lake, shopping for the little things like cow hooves (they're Oscar's favorite) and face wash that we don't have over here in Sicily, traveling to Chicago to see Carrie and Andrew (and a creepy and controversial exhibit called Body Works), and hanging out at the good ol' Lenawee County Fair. You see, Phil had it timed perfectly so that we would be home while the fair was running strong.
He said it was so we could support Ben at the pig show, but I knew otherwise. Phil had one thing on his mind, and that thing was the Figure 8 race. He's been involved in it 3 times prior, and was itching for another chance to ram into cars and leave the other hillbillies of Lenawee county in his dust. Driving in Sicily has really prepared him for this task, as we endure figure 8 style driving everyday here where the craziest and most ruthless people get behind the wheels of their Fiat Cinquecentos and Ford Fiestas (oh yeah, they're a big hit over here!). Sicilians have no concept of looking before they pull out onto the road and they will turn any stretch of asphalt into a 3 lane highway. And why should they care what happens to their cars? The majority of them drives pieces of crap anyway. So, back to the race....
If success was measured in the form of greatest number of gasps from the audience, then Phil would have claimed the top prize for sure! Every time he neared the center of the figure 8, he came within millimeters of T boning the approaching cars. Ooooooo! That was close! Eeeeek! Geeeez! That's all I heard myself saying on the videotape. Sadly, he didn't win, but there's always next summer..........the Freak Monkey will ride again!
Our time back in the States seems like ions ago. We spent our days visiting with friends and family, swimming at Devil's Lake, shopping for the little things like cow hooves (they're Oscar's favorite) and face wash that we don't have over here in Sicily, traveling to Chicago to see Carrie and Andrew (and a creepy and controversial exhibit called Body Works), and hanging out at the good ol' Lenawee County Fair. You see, Phil had it timed perfectly so that we would be home while the fair was running strong.
He said it was so we could support Ben at the pig show, but I knew otherwise. Phil had one thing on his mind, and that thing was the Figure 8 race. He's been involved in it 3 times prior, and was itching for another chance to ram into cars and leave the other hillbillies of Lenawee county in his dust. Driving in Sicily has really prepared him for this task, as we endure figure 8 style driving everyday here where the craziest and most ruthless people get behind the wheels of their Fiat Cinquecentos and Ford Fiestas (oh yeah, they're a big hit over here!). Sicilians have no concept of looking before they pull out onto the road and they will turn any stretch of asphalt into a 3 lane highway. And why should they care what happens to their cars? The majority of them drives pieces of crap anyway. So, back to the race....
If success was measured in the form of greatest number of gasps from the audience, then Phil would have claimed the top prize for sure! Every time he neared the center of the figure 8, he came within millimeters of T boning the approaching cars. Ooooooo! That was close! Eeeeek! Geeeez! That's all I heard myself saying on the videotape. Sadly, he didn't win, but there's always next summer..........the Freak Monkey will ride again!
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Weekend in Marsala and Marettimo
Last weekend Phil and I traveled to the west side of the island to visit with our friends, Maureen and Rick, who live in Marsala (wine, anyone?). Well, we didn't spend much time in Marsala because on Saturday morning we boarded a ferrry which took us to one of the Egadi islands, Marettimo. Marettimo is one of 3 Egadi islands and it falls in size and population between the larger Favignana and the smaller Levanzo. Most of the tourists here are Italian, but if you come to Sicily and overlook this place, you are really at a lose! It is gourgeous! Maureen had already set up our lodging and boat trip with a woman named Pina and her brother Pietro, both of whom speak near perfect English. They are brother and sister, and shortly after arriving I can tell that this is an island made of a close knit community as everyone seems to know each other and are glad to recommend sites which are run by friends or family members! Hey, you have to get business somehow, right? Well, Pietro was our captain for the day and he gave us a splendid tour. His boat was immaculate and included a galley kitchen, sleeping area, and bathroom. Apparently he used to take this boat every year to Alaska for fishing, but now has turned it into a business venture in his later years. As we cruised around the island, Pietro pulled into breathtaking cave after cave for our viewing pleasure, but we couldn't linger too long as other boats were right behind to take it all in too. We stopped about 3 times to swim, and it was on the second stop that Phil and I were introduced to Medusa.
We were swimming into a cave which Pitero told us would open up into a little beach area on the inside. Well, Maureen and Rick were ahead with the flashlight, goggles, and mask, so they had a pretty good idea what we were swimming toward (and what was swimming around us). Phil and I on the other hand were just swimming blindly and couldn't see if the little Medusa jellyfish were heading our way or not. Turns out that they were as Phil was stung right on the chin. As soon as I saw him jump out of the water, I knew what had happened, so let's just say I wasn't worried about getting to that beach anytime soon! We started swimming back out of the cave when I felt an electric shock right on my left hip bone--ouch, Medusa! Those things are not too big, but they still hurt! After we got back to the boat, I realized that I had actually been stung in 3 places and they were swelling up quickly. An Italian woman on the trip with us had been prepared for this, as she had ammonia from the pharmacy with her, which is supposed to help with the sting. It smelled horribly, and I felt really bad for Phil because he had to hold it right below his nose. Lesson learned, no more cave swimming when the Medusa are still in season! The swelling went down that night, so it wasn't too bad, and now we both just have little blisters from the initial sting.
I have pictures to share, but unfortunately they are from a disposible camera because our camera battery died as I tried to take the first picture. We are definitely planning on going back, maybe in September or October when the Medusa should be long gone.
For pictures of the island:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Egadi_Islands
http://www.world66.com/europe/italy/sicily/lib/gallery
We were swimming into a cave which Pitero told us would open up into a little beach area on the inside. Well, Maureen and Rick were ahead with the flashlight, goggles, and mask, so they had a pretty good idea what we were swimming toward (and what was swimming around us). Phil and I on the other hand were just swimming blindly and couldn't see if the little Medusa jellyfish were heading our way or not. Turns out that they were as Phil was stung right on the chin. As soon as I saw him jump out of the water, I knew what had happened, so let's just say I wasn't worried about getting to that beach anytime soon! We started swimming back out of the cave when I felt an electric shock right on my left hip bone--ouch, Medusa! Those things are not too big, but they still hurt! After we got back to the boat, I realized that I had actually been stung in 3 places and they were swelling up quickly. An Italian woman on the trip with us had been prepared for this, as she had ammonia from the pharmacy with her, which is supposed to help with the sting. It smelled horribly, and I felt really bad for Phil because he had to hold it right below his nose. Lesson learned, no more cave swimming when the Medusa are still in season! The swelling went down that night, so it wasn't too bad, and now we both just have little blisters from the initial sting.
I have pictures to share, but unfortunately they are from a disposible camera because our camera battery died as I tried to take the first picture. We are definitely planning on going back, maybe in September or October when the Medusa should be long gone.
For pictures of the island:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Egadi_Islands
http://www.world66.com/europe/italy/sicily/lib/gallery
The Modern Stone Age Doggy
Is that Oscar in that picture or Dino from The Flinstones with that dinosaur-sized bone? If there was anything in the world that Oscar was depressed, worried, or stressed out about, he definitely forgot it all when he laid eyes on the treat that our butcher neighbor gave him! See, we have a butcher right around the corner from our house and we always see him on our daily walks. He loves Oscar and always waves us over to pet him. Phil decided that we should ask for a bone from the butcher to keep Oscar occupied. We just wanted something small, like a joint or something, but instead we got the bone of all bones! I don't even know what it is--cow, horse--but Oscar loves it and will not let it out of his sight!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
