Author: clare

Meg is safely home

Meg got back from her summer scout trip hiking from Memmingen to Kempten late Sunday. The drive train was delayed enough that it made sense to pick them up in Cologne. After dropping off the rest of the carpool, we had Meg and mom sushi. Meg fell asleep on the way home.

Our week with Spencer

We have been hanging out with Spencer this week while Meg is on her backpacking trip. He has anew jersey from soccer camp this week. Afterwards, he plays as much Fortnight as we will allow. He is sore in the mornings, but getting stronger. We’ve also been playing Canasta in the evenings. It’s hard to believe how fast our boy is becoming a young man.

Meg’s outdoor summer day camp and Spencer’s Inception Cheerio

Meg and Spencer have both been at day camps around Würselen this week. Today I picked up Meg and she showed me the hide out they had fashioned. There is a tarp, trash bags full of leaves to sit on and signs or decorations. Spencer has also been at a camp doing treasure hunts , playing games, and generally running around, but I don’t have any pictures.

Spencer identified a Cheerio within a Cheerio in his cereal this morning. It was an exciting way to start the day.

Whiskey Peach Butter

Last weekend, I got a 2 kg flat of peaches on special. They were good, but not amazing. I decided to use them to make something and today I decided that something should be peach butter. I blanched the peaches, peeled and diced them, and cooked them down in the pretty pink blanching water (which contained about a teaspoon of salt), which I filtered before I used for cooking. I added 1/2 cup rohrzucker/ brown sugar, a generous tablespoon of honey and a dash of lemon juice at the beginning of the process. After about 4 hours simmering on low heat, I puréed the mixture, added a dash of cinnamon, another dash of lemon juice, and a shot of whiskey. I simmered the mixture another 15-20 minutes and stored in jars in the fridge. I’d probably make more if I was going to can it, but I doubt this peach butter will last long enough to need preservation methods.

Last stop: Strasbourg, France

By the time we rolled into Strasbourg, we were happy to be almost home. We stayed in an apartment right on Kléber Square and could see the Cathedral from our window. It was fun to watch the hustle and bustle from above. We stopped by Temple Neuf and there was someone practicing piano. We walked on to the Catherdral and got to see the quarter-hour chime of the astronomical clock. In the morning, we went on another little walk along the river and did some window shopping before the final car trip home. It was a fun trip, but we were so happy to sleep in our own beds.

In der Schweiz

We toured Liechtenstein during the day, then drove back into Switzerland to spend the night. We stayed in the Toggenburg region in the town Nesslau. It was so beautiful, even in the rain.

Rob and I got to sneak out to get a beer at the brewery across the bridge for a short date night. It almost felt like a short break from 2020.

We only stayed one night to break up the long drive home. The kids definitely want to come back so we can explore some more! We will see though… there are so many possible places to visit.