Funny #2, courtesy of Ryan

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR7QVG3MLDw

(have I put this up before?)

Very funny, courtesy of Ryan

http://www.break.com/index/how-to-report-the-news.html

Vienna

This is probably not what you expect to see when reading a post about Vienna. In fact, this will be quite the eclectic compilation of trip photos. We start with the above tree which we found in the botanical garden at the Schonbrunn Palace.

Two interesting sights in the subway station near the apartment in which we stayed. Above, is the amusing sign above the men's bathroom and below, is one of the many posters/billboards that "annoyed" Kyle throughout our trip. After much begging, he allowed me about two seconds to take this photo.

For 60 years, this ferris wheel was the largest in the world. The gondolas are large enough to hold 20+ people and some are set with tables for private dining. Tim-not-without-my-parachute and Kyle nervously kept the car as wobble-free as possible.

This baroque-style church was undergoing renovation yet provided us with another thrilling observation location. Free-standing scaffolding (including an elevator) had been erected from the main floor through the highest point of the dome. Despite the shaking and swaying (of the scaffolding, not us!), Kyle and I made it to the top. I'm not sure how our death-grip on the railing was going to help us if the structure actually collapsed!

The top picture shows the scaffolding disappearing through the ceiling and the lower one shows the first set of stairs.

City hall, decorated for Christmas, with a beautiful Christmas market in the park. We visited several Christmas markets, something I always loved to do when we lived in Germany.

St Stephen's Cathedral provided us with out last acrophobia-inducing experience. Despite the 12 degree temperature, we climbed the iron steps mounted on the outside of one of the towers for a thrillingly scary view. This turned out to have been a great idea because up until that point, we had been aimlessly wandering around yet another lovely but aren't-they-all-the-same European cathedral. Now, it's a church the kids will never forget!

View from the tower.

Michael with the panda statue at the world's oldest baroque zoo which is located on the grounds of Schonbrunn palace. Pandas are Michael's favorite animal.

The entrance to the palace. It's a huge estate, as you can see from the lower photo, which is taken from the top of a hill at the rear of the grounds. There was a Christmas market here, too, and later that evening, we returned for a concert of piano, strings, and voice.

Michael's favorite meal in all of Vienna.

How did you spend Christmas Day?

I'm still trying to catch up on the back log of pictures we have taken over the last few months. Here we are on a lazy Christmas afternoon. Well, lazy to a point. Only one person was on her feet while every other being in the house was relaxing. Ryan was so relaxed that he was entertaining us with his snoring.

Here, Kyle is checking out a new book, Fahrenheit 451, and Michael is reading the instructions to his new Nerf gun.

Tim, reading something amusing online.
Jacek and Lisa were also staring at the back of their eyelids but she was upstairs in bed so I don't have a picture of her (for which I am sure she is grateful!).

Katy is multi-relaxing- reading a book and playing Scribblenauts on her DS.

And of course, here I am, cooking (and mentally counting down to Mother's Day, the one holiday for which I do no cooking, cleaning, or shopping) (well, except for two cards). Does anyone appreciate how much women do to create traditions and treasured memories for their families? Let's thank all the Moms in our lives- THANK YOU!!

WTF?!

Our bedroom or the Zugspitz in Germany?

No, I'm not swearing! "What The Freeze" is what I mean because it's -9 degrees this morning. It was 57 in our bedroom when we woke up because the automatic thermostat won't let me adjust the minimum night-time temp. During the day the heat runs constantly but the coldest rooms (living and dining ) still reach only 65. Uninsulated cement is no way to build a cozy house so thank goodness for space heaters, polartec fleece, and a snuggly cat.

Tim's Anniversary

Today is the 19th anniversary of Tim's F-4 ejection, on the third day of Operation Desert Storm. I googled him and found the following two references.

www.scribd.com/doc/11607905/Modern-Fighter-Aircraft-Technology-and-Tactics p.66

www.dstorm.eu/pages/cz/other/losses.html scroll down, looking for F-4G on left side

And now here he is- poland.usembassy.gov/poland/burke2.html

Haiti

If you want to do something but aren't quite sure how to help, I can recommend Doctors Without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ . My friend Libby worked with them in Haiti last year laboring tirelessly to set up their medical supplies in a new hospital. All that work is now shattered in rubble. On the news I saw that the organization is currently treating patients in open parking lots. You can go to their website and in a few quick clicks, you can donate any amount of money. Even just $10 would help. All of us who are comfortably enjoying life as we surf the internet, have a nice meal, flush a toilet, and sleep in a comfy bed, should share a tiny bit with those who now have nothing.

The Life-cycle of a Christmas Tree

After many unexpected delays (early vacation trip to Vienna, extreme cold snap, dead car battery), we were finally off to the nursery to buy a Christmas tree. The temperature was so low, that we could barely tolerate being outside for more than a few minutes so we made our selection quickly. Can you tell by the above expressions who did not like the tree we chose?

The nursery staff tied the tree to the roof rack. We had to leave the engine running the whole time, in an attempt to recharge the jump-started battery.

On the back patio, Kyle prepares the drill in order to make a hole in the trunk so that the tree will be positioned properly in the stand. I stand in the warm house, supervising.

Christmas eve, after the elves have placed the gifts. For the first time, we had to add a fourth string of lights and the layers of branches were so widely spaced that we had room for many more ornaments (hard to see the detail in this photo).

And now so sad- presents and decorations gone, and lower branches removed (less needle mess when it's dragged through the doorway). All the branches are being used to make a fort in the backyard.

Christmas 2009

Here we are at Chopin Airport greeting Ryan and Lisa when they arrived. Don't they look great despite many, many hours of travel from Denver to Warsaw?!

A second shot, after I hand off the camera to Tim.
I'll continue to add more holiday photos in future posts but right now, I need to make dinner.

Ryan and Lisa and the quilt

Lucky for me there's the etiquette rule that allows up to one year after the wedding to give a gift to the bride and groom. This means that giving Ryan and Lisa their wedding quilt in December, four and a half months after the ceremony, does not make me a bad mother/mother-in-law! So, after 12 months and hundreds of hand-quilting hours, I was done and the quilt went home to Denver.

Please, Kyle, Katy, and Michael, don't get married for a long time!

And pretty please, don't anyone tell Lisa about the Debbie-wedding-quilt-curse.

I am now knitting a sweater, which is a much quicker project.

What's wrong with this picture?

hint: This is at the Vienna Zoo and it's 12 degrees outside.