All Around Us

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted. -- Henri Matisse


The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers. -- Basho, 1680

A River Walk

This morning, I walked for twelve miles through Heidelberg and along the river front. In November, I'm walking a marathon with several friends, and we're starting to extend our mileage.


Here's a sample of scenery along the Neckar River. The swans may look placid and graceful, but believe me, you don't want to get these birds angry, or the wrath of all bird-dom will fly upon you!

The Sembach Group

Laurie, Angela, and Chris at The Alte Schmiede Restaurant

Angela, Chris, Norma, and I meet monthly to talk about writing, critique manuscripts, share a meal, and catch up on each other's lives. These women have helped keep me sane since I moved away from my extensive network of friends and fellow writers in Oregon four years ago! Two of the original members, Sondy and Marta, have returned to the US, but we keep in touch via email and blogs.

See Angela's blog for more news of our group. Between us, we write young adult and mid-grade novels, picture books, poetry, humor and travel essays, science fiction, and more. Something for everyone.

*Photo courtesy of Angela Cerrito

Keep Those Eyes Open!

David flew in from Grand Rapids this morning, and is fighting to keep his eyes open just one more hour. He arrived bearing gifts: Rich and Creamy Rainbow Chip Frosting for Danielle (can't find it here) and a pair of Anna's favorite jeans from the States.

Now if I can only find a way to keep him awake a little longer. Jet lag won't be so bad then.

Thinking About the Olympics

NY Times has a brief commentary on Chariots of Fire, a movie based on the true story of two runners competing in the 1924 Olympics. If you've never seen the film, what better time than now? Go rent it tonight! And let me know if you liked it or not.

Murphy Around Town

It's not Murphy Monday yet, but Murphy's been on a photo shoot around our little village and can't wait to show you pictures of his home.

Here's the church at the center of town. To get Murphy to pose in one spot, we bribed him with part of a gelato cone from the eis cafe across the street. Hey, if it works!

Sunflowers Forever

Saw zillions and zillions of these blooms planted at Schiphol Airport outside Amsterdam. It's true--the Dutch certainly do have a way with flowers.

Anne Frank

A Riveting Read

Yesterday, I saw a young girl of about ten following her father down the street. She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, because she had her nose in a book.

Can I just say -- that was me, quite a few years ago??? Surprised I didn't end up running into stop signs and falling off sidewalks.

Street Anatomy

OK, maybe you can blame it on the fact that I spent lots of spare time browsing my father's medical textbooks as a kid, as well as putting together a "Visible Woman" in homeschool (my mother taught me first through third grade in Africa)--but the Street Anatomy site fascinates me.

Make sure you check out the anatomy tattoos. Not something you see everyday.

Also, the National Library of Medicine held an art contest for children, asking them to portray what they thought the body looked like under the skin. Quite a few beautiful drawings resulted from their answer to that question.

Stuttgart For A Day & Night

Tomorrow I drive down to Stuttgart (only an hour and a half away, if I don't hit any traffic jams) because Jeff is working in the area for two days. Also, the paternal side of my family came from a little town near Stuttgart, so I'd like to explore the region more.

Next week, Jeff has a class up in Amsterdam, so Anna and I will join him and see a bit of the Netherlands.

This is one aspect of his job I'll miss when we eventually move back to the US...

You Saw A Bike Where?

Inside Frankfurt airport, you might see a bike like this whizzing past:


Shocked me a bit, the first time! The airport buys the bicycles for their workers to get from place to place within the terminal more easily. As I've said before, Germany is a paradise for bike-lovers.

*Photo from the Alex Moulton website

Betwixt and Between

I've been reflecting on the last month, during which I flew back to see my family and friends in Oregon. While there, Anna and I visited our old neighborhood, where we talked to folks who still live on the street where we spent twenty-plus years.

Very strange feeling--this is the first time I've returned to Oregon when it's not felt like my real home. Germany has become home. And yet, at the same time, I know Jeff's job here will only last one to three more years, at the most. So this isn't really my long term home in many ways. I ultimately define "home" as a place where I live and put down roots.

So where is home? I'm still trying to figure it out.

Rabbit Ears Murphy

It's Murphy Monday again, and I'd intended to post some photos of Murphy as the dog-around-town. But that will have to wait until next week, or whenever our weather improves. Don't think you want to see a matted, wet bundle of dog hair posing in the rain.

So, ta-da, here's Murphy in one of his cutest impersonations: Dog with rabbit ears.


We do insist on having our twisted version of fun once and awhile, so if people ask "Is that a dog?" we sometimes say that he's a giant guinea pig or rabbit. Which is feasible, given that Murphy has no tail, and is approximately the shape of an overgrown guinea pig...

„Wicked - Die Hexen von Oz

We've been listening to the original "Wicked" soundtrack for the last 2 weeks, after Danielle bought it in the States. Then I found this video recently. Good way to learn a few new German words.

Now I want to see the live musical!

Oh, the Beach!

I seem to have finally conquered jetlag--Anna and I arrived back in Germany last Saturday, after a leg-cramping flight from Portland to Amsterdam, then Frankfurt.

But I must post more photos from the coast! We stayed one night at the Sylvia Beach Hotel, my favorite bed and breakfast on the face of the earth. Due to cost, Anna and I slept in the women's dorm (a little-known secret--their less expensive bunk-bed room which still includes the hotel's huge breakfast and other amenities).



We peered into as many of the writer-themed rooms as possible, from the Agatha Christie room to the E.B. White room. Anna and her friend Amy really wanted to see the Edgar Allen Poe suite, so were thrilled when the guest finally left and they could sneak in to check out the pendulum blade over the bed and a lurking stuffed raven on the dresser. Cool details.



During our hotel dinner that night, each table played the "Two Truths and a Lie" game--as is traditional at the Sylvia Beach hotel. I've perfected my lies over quite a few years of visiting! We each got to ask 3 questions of every person, then guessed which fact about them was a lie. Try it with your friends, you might learn some surprising things.

Oregon Coast Photos

Last Sunday, I drove Anna and her friend Amy to Newport, where we visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Yellow jellyfish make great abstract art!



It was fun peering up at the fish in water tunnels overhead, too. Felt a bit like being under the sea, which I'm sure is the effect the architects aimed for.



The freaky car gave us all a few moments of amusement. Note the pairing of one of the seven dwarfs with a rubber duckie and a praying nun, not to mention several decapitated dolls' heads with wind-blown hair and unnaturally red lips.



Wonder how many traffic accidents this car causes, when people do double-takes? Must be fun to drive around town.

This and That

Well, I'm in Oregon visiting my folks and extended family and friends. Highlights from the last week:

* Trying on a shirt in a Maine mall, when my daughter suddenly exclaimed, "Mom, what's that huge black mole on your back?!" I examined my "mole" in the mirror, and shrieked when I saw its tiny wiggling legs. Somehow, I'd picked up a tick while walking the backroads of rural Maine. For the next hour I gritted my teeth and tried not to think of blood-sucking bugs while I drove home to the inlaws and got Jeff to pull the tick off carefully with tweezers. Now I need to watch for symptoms of Lyme disease, but I think my critter was a wood tick, not a deer tick, so that's fortunate.

* My first full day in Oregon, I walked into a Safeway store and asked my mother, "What in the world is that?" as I pointed to the grocery cart. She peered in and then told me, "Laurie, that's a cup-holder. Haven't you seen them before?" Ahhhh. Remember, in Germany, most of the cars don't have cup-holders, and none of the grocery carts do! (It's illegal to drink or eat while driving in Germany. Also against the law for the driver to talk on a cell phone) Funny moment there, and I realized it's indeed been awhile since I've lived in the States..

* Have I said that I adore the abundance of coffee shops in Oregon?? Free wireless, indie music, and shelves of books in English.

* I do miss the network of bike trails and well-constructed walking paths in Germany. Oregon's one of the better states in terms of bike-friendliness and pedestrian awareness, but I had to walk from the urgent care clinic where my tetanus shot was updated, and trekked over broken concrete, barkdust, and a few blocks of mediocre sidewalk.

*Dad's picking fresh Hood strawberries for us to feast on each day--the best breakfast on earth.

Down East

Just to let you know, I'll be mostly incommunicado for a week--in Maine at the inlaw's, celebrating their 60th anniversary. My husband's folks live right on the coast, and last night we spotted seals out in Frenchman's bay, sunning on a rock. One of these days when the sun peeks out, we'll take turns paddling their kayak around in front of the house. It's only a short drive to Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert island. Definitely my kind of terrain!

And my mother-in-law is a gourmet cook. She insists on stuffing us with fresh-picked crab, scallops the size of silver dollars, blueberries, rhubarb crisp, and countless other treats. If I don't gain a million pounds this week, it'll be a miracle. That's why I'm trying to walk a lot--last night, David, Jeff and I pounded the back roads and ended up putting in 6 miles.

I'll blog next from Oregon, Anna and I fly there on the 24th. Have a great week!

I Know I've Lived In Germany For Awhile When...

*My child says, "Let's skip the castle. Can we go to the park instead?"

*Apple juice and other drinks taste better without ice.

*Listening to the latest Stau report on the radio, I can't remember the American word for Stau (traffic jam).

*I wait to mow the lawn until afternoon quiet hours are done.

*It isn't incongruous to see an eighty year old woman with perfectly styled hair, fancy blouse, and skirt riding a bicycle down the cobblestones (dangling her Sunday purse on the handlebars).

*The local cult of Spargel-adoration doesn't seem quite as silly anymore. In fact, it's kind of endearing.

Spargel = white asparagus, or as I call it, albino asparagus.


Photo is of David and Anna in the nearby town of Schwetzingen, where this sculpture honors the region's spargel crop .

How do you know you've lived somewhere (whether Germany or otherwise) for awhile?