Just Sitting

My Compulsion

Everytime I get dressed, leave the bath room or more than a dozen other times during the day, I check my gig line. What is a gig line you say? Its that imaginary line along the edge of your shirt and fly placket and the front edge of your belt buckle. they are all supposed to align with each other to forma  straight edge called a gig line. Thank you Uncle Sam for giving me an obsession.

Enjoy,

Tim

Video of the week

Its been a while since I shared some new music. This is my latest find. They are refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day.

Enjoy,

Tim

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

Last Day

Today is our last day in Germany. We head back in the morning bright and early. We slept in late, had (Lunch) and headed for a tour along the Mosel. Josh got to visit his first castle in Germany... far better than the Schloss in Thun. :) We are all tired, but having our lat beer together & then packing to go.

Enjoy more of the day' pictures here.

Enjoy,

Tim

Jasmin and Martin's Reception

Ok, "Reception? might not be the right word. "Party" is probably and even better word.

Jasmin and Martin were married in a church around 3:00. We could not take pictures, but they will be available online soon. The wedding ceremony was interesting. You might think of it as a cross between a folk mass, a puppet show and a comedy showcase. After the wedding we dropped Little Tim off at his grandmother's house and stopped at Holger and Katie's home to pick up the trailer for the bathtub (all will be explained later).

We arrived at the reception around six and the festivities started soon after. The couple was introduced and the father's each gave a speech. Then the tables were each assigned a task of coming up with a cheer that they would need later. Holger came up with ours right away. 

Then it was off to the buffet.I have never seen so much food at a reception. Josh and I ate till we could not stuff any more into us. Beef,chicken, pork, broccoli casserole, green beans, potatoes, croquettes, spatzle, salmon, just to name a few. There was also a separate table for desserts. The family provides the main meal while the guests bring desserts.

Well fed, time for the show to start. The mother's each had a slide show of pictures of Jasmin and Martin as the grew up. Then Jasmin and martin's friend's presented their own videos and slide shows. 

A short intermission and then the friends presented some skits (here is where the bath tub comes in). This continued until midnight when the cake was cut and a second dessert buffet with cakes and cheeses and breads was served. Then dancing until around 2:30 in the morning, when we left. As far as I know, the party may still be going on. :)

For all of the pictures, you might want to go to Jasmin's Reception Party.

Some interesting traditions: At one point the bride and groom take one shoe from each of them and sit back to back in chairs. They are then asked questions about their new life together and they must answer by lifting the appropriate shoe. questions like: "Who will handle the money" They did pretty well, but there was a lot of laughter to some of the answers.

Along one wall a series of 52 post cards were hung. Each postcard had a date on it. One for each week of the coming year. During the evening, people would take a post card. They then mail it to the couple to arrive during the assigned week. This is intended to send good wishes to the couple every week of their first year together. 

At one point the tables had to compete with their cheers. There were probably ten cheers in all & each table was louder than the last. I think we did ok, but the tables with Jasmin and Martins young friends were definitely the loudest.

There are too many stories to tell in one posting, so I will add more later.

Enjoy,

Tim

Jasmin's Civil Ceremony

Friday was our first full day in Germany. Holger picked us up at the railway station in Frankfort Thursday evening and we had a wonderful BBQ with sausages, pork kebabs and steaks. As a really nice surprise, Holger's friends and neighbors Horst and Doris ate with us, along with their son Mark. 

Friday morning, we slept till seven & then got our day off to a relaxing start. We left the house at 10:15 for Jasmin and Martin's civil ceremony at a nearby caste. This is the kind of wedding that I really enjoy. Everybody was dressed in casual clothes and the ceremony was brief. Afterwards, we had champaign and pretzels on a patio overlooking the valley. Enjoy these pictures, but if you want to see all of the pictures, look here.

Today is Martin and Jasmin's church ceremony. From what we saw of Jasmin's wedding dress, she will look wonderful. The ceremony is at three, followed by what I expect to be a really big party.

Enjoy,

Tim

Today...... France!

Just a quick update. We added more pictures to the gallery. You can see them here.

Tomorrow, we board the ICE to Frankfort and the extended McSchneider clan. I'll be sure to post pictures of Little Tim. I am sure that he must be big enough to drive by now. :)

Tim

The boys are doing just fine...

Josh and I are having a great time in Switzerland. We miss our women. However, we are making the most of our time here. Monday we took a ferry across lake Thune, hitched a ride on a whole lot of trains and stood atop the Jung Frau Joch. Today, we visited Bern and toured the old city, including the cathedral.. really impressive. Tomorrow, Lake Geneva and France. To see some pictures of our trip, look  here.

We are still alive!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks. As usual, when we are busy, I don't write. No big news. Josh and I are very much looking forward to seeing Holger, Katie, and crew. Holger, your thermometers are on order. I should have them later this week.

Jasmin and Martin must be going out of their minds with excitement now that the wedding is just 3 weeks away.

This picture of Katie is from Last December. However, it is one of my favorites. Poor Katie has had a rough week. Cheer up kid! Things are already looking a whole lot better.

Also, Hoger was kind enough to send me this link. Jasmin's wedding is going to be held in this castle. We've had a sneak peak at her wedding dress, so I am going to guess that she is going to be a princess for the day! :)

I know that all of you are very jealous that you won't be at the wedding. You should be! Josh and I will be there and we will have a grand time. We will be sure to tell you all about it... over and over and over. Not to mention that we will have plenty of pictures to share. Because that is the way we roll around here. :) 

Everybody have a great week!

Tim