We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming...

...for a word from my foreign blog correspondent in Siberia.

Ok, so maybe not Siberia, but my dad sent these photos this afternoon from Germany and I just can't believe it!

Such amounts of snow and so early in the season! I think they are getting ready for a true White Christmas.

I've seen similar photos from some you, my German blog friends. Just amazing...

...a Winter Wonderland!

 And I think there is more on the way.

Not here. We've had rain today and cold again tomorrow, but with sunshine.

I have to call my sister tomorrow. Her boys must LOVE all this snow!

As does my dad and Ingrid's dog!

Hope you are all staying warm!!!

Visit to Germany, Part 3

Aside from spending time with my sister and her family and traveling a good bit through Germany, and the wedding, my dad and I had fun visiting Münster and doing a little sightseeing in the area. Although, we both agreed that there wasn't nearly enough time to do everything we had wanted to do.

Plus, the fact that I developed a slight cold toward the end of my stay and we were both tired from so much activity, forced us to build in some R&R time and enjoy my dad and his wife, Ingrid's, backyard and their wonderful little dog, a German Pinscher. Of course, I totally forgot to take pictures of those relaxed times...

But here a few pics of me seeing a newly developed part of town for the first time (they did a great job with it!),

visiting the bi-weekly market (only one short visit!),

eating with my dad at one of my very favorite restaurants, Vapiano (it's already in several big cities in the US and coming to even more, just not anywhere near Savannah... sigh!),

- don't you just love that big olive tree in the middle of the table? - ,

drinking a cappuccino,

and another with a couple of yummy little pastries,

and visiting an old mansion right around where my dad and Ingrid live, but that we had never explored.

Isn't it something?

I love those bright colors!

It houses a museum at the moment.

Can you imagine living in a huge mansion like that? And washing all those windows?!?

It was a fantastic visit!

Danke, Papa!!

Tomorrow, I'll have some nature pictures I took over in Germany of all the different things we saw in the woods while going on some wonderful little hikes. After that, a couple of odds and ends, one art related. And then some knitting updates ... I've been VERY busy since I got back!

Thank you all for your great comments and visits! I hope to visit all of your blogs this weekend!!

Gaga about Pottery...

I was going to do a post introducing you to the latest issue of my favorite German magazine "Landlust" (and it's another beautiful issue!), but my dad sent me some photos that I thought I'd share with you first. He is quickly becoming my foreign blog correspondent!

Last weekend, my dad met up with

his long-time friend from college and together
they explored a couple of gorgeous little towns along the river Lahn, a place where my dad vacationed with his parents when he was a young boy.
Isn't it just beautiful? (I think I'm feeling a visit coming on...)
Apparently, Goethe got off the boat and had lunch at this gorgeous old building in 1774!
Now...the pottery! Do you remember this beautiful pitcher that my dad brought for us from Germany when he visited in November?

Last weekend, he went back to the same pottery studio, Töpferei Giertz, and took pictures for all of us!
Even of the master potter himself...
and his workspace (so tidy!).
There are two potters working at the studio and they still fire all their pieces the traditional way in an open fire.

I made a loaf of wonderfully seedy and grainy German bread yesterday and would have loved that large bread crock ("Brottopf") to keep it fresh. Ok, I admit it, I just want it because it's pretty!

Isn't this blue just gorgeous?

I'd like one of everything, please! How about you?!

Tomorrow: Landlust and a few garden photos!

What I Miss Most About Münster!

Aside from my family and friends, that is. It's the biweekly outdoor market on the big plaza in front of the beautiful cathedral. Münster has one of the biggest and most beautiful markets I have ever seen.

Every Wednesday and Saturday morning, rain or shine, year round, vendors come from near and far, even from Holland, and set up their stands bright and early to be ready for the early birds.

My dad knows how much we love this place, and yesterday he went shopping at the market and took all these photos for you and us. I think he's trying to make us homesick so we visit soon... He's definitely starting to keep my blog in mind when he takes pictures! Danke, Papa!!

This is not a market where you can get just a few things. No, here you can do your entire grocery shopping. Now, come with me on a tour of just a few thing you can see there:

Many stands with the most delectable baked goods from grainy breads to delicious pastries,
fresh juices at a juice bar (I don't remember seeing this last time I was there - it must be new),
any vegetable or fruit you can think of from the local organic produce
to those imported from warmer climates,
all fresh,
and all arranged so beautifully,
many different kinds of potatoes (don't you just love how my dad got some of the vendors to smile for the pictures?!),
freshly picked strawberries and green and white asparagus (oh, how I miss the white asparagus),
chicken eggs, goose eggs, and those laid by the Easter bunny,
Mediterranean fare of any kind,
olives, garlic, lavender,
and many kinds of olive oils and vingears,
savory preserves,
and sweet ones,
fresh tulips from Holland,
any cut flower you'd want to bring home,
but also potted plants,
and herbs for your herb garden.
And that's not all. You can buy dairy products, cheeses, meats, fresh and smoked fish, arts and crafts, yarn for knitting, even some small animals like rabbits or little chicks. During the one year that Daniel and I lived in Münster, that is where did all our grocery shopping. We lived close, so we were able to ride our bikes there. An experience like nothing else!

When we go to Germany, we make sure to plan our flights to allow the maximum market visits. Daniel and I, my dad and sometimes my sister or a friend will slowly amble up and down the aisles, chat, take it all in and always (always!) have a coffee and breakfast at our favorite coffee stand. (This was taken one early morning on our last visit to Germany - the coffee obviously hadn't kicked in yet.)

Oh, I feel a visit coming on...

I wanted to thank you all for your heartfelt comments on my anniversary post. You all are the best!!