Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

A delicious tradition that I married into happens at least once a year in early summer.  It's a night of All-you-can-eat Strawberry Shortcake.  So with an "Erdbeer Hofs" (pronounced Erd-bear)--"Strawberry Huts"--popping up all over town, it was time for this extravaganza. I bought 2 kilos of strawberry, not wanting to run short.  On our way home on the tram the luscious red strawberries sparked a conversation with a friendly lady we were sitting with.  She asked how much I paid for them, and since they were from an Erdbeer Hof, I knew they were more expensive, but better than what I would find at the grocery market.  These were from Laatzen, a town just southeast of Hannover. After Dinner Crash We've had a fabulous crazy weather day, alternating fierce thunderstorms with brilliant sunshine and blue skies.  We made it to the zoo this morning, beating the crowds by arriving at 9:30, half an hour after opening.  We've noticed that around her...

Sunset: 9:45 PM Sunrise: 4:58 PM John and I took this picture at about 10 PM Sunday night.  We wanted to show all our Texas friends how light it is at these northern latitudes this time of year.  We are at 52 degrees north.  Houston is 29 degrees north. My bare feet were getting cold on the grass, he he he.

Monday was the day after Pentecost and in Germany it is a holiday.  Some people get together with family, some go out of town for a long weekend or take the whole week off (if they don’t have kids in school) and some just hang around the house like we did.   After a late breakfast we got out for some exercise.  John and Elisabeth headed out first, John running and Elisabeth on her bike.  They wended their way through the neighborhood and then onto some trails to eventually end up at a playground at the edge of the woods.  Henry and I took the direct route to the playground, he on his bike and me on my speedy feet (walking).  As we went by the Lutheran church where Henry attends Kindergarten we saw a large group of people who seemed to be leaving the church.  I assumed there was a Pentecost Monday service.  We took a different route so we wouldn’t have to ride right through them, but encountered them again a few minutes further into the woods....