Exactly 150 days until...

Notre Dame Football! Oh man! Can you feel it? Can ya?

Victoria told me she wanted to watch every game with me. Simone doesn't believe me.

Radio Magic

Two mornings ago I was driving in the Cooper, and what did I hear on the radio?

That's right. They wanted me to wake them up before I went went. Well, I couldn't go fast enough. I instinctively smacked the power button on the radio to silence the Duo before they could do any more damage. After shutting off the radio, I continued to stare at it as if I were preparing a scathing retort. I glared at it for several seconds. I had nothing.

And today, on the same country lane, at the same time of the morning, during the same stretch of road, on comes...

Foreigner told me I was Cold As Ice. I didn't immediately silence them, as I was indeed fond of Foreigner 4 at the tender age of 11 or so. No, instead I paused for a few thoughtful seconds and asked myself why I had forgotten my iPod for the second day in a row. Why?

Where it all Began

When my folks came to visit last September one thing on the agenda was a roadtrip with the purpose of seeing two towns - Stadt Blankenberg and Mainz-Ebersheim.

Our original family name is Von Blankenberg, meaning one who comes from Blankenberg (Blankenberg means Shiny or Bright Mountain). It was later changed to Blankenberger, again meaning one who hails from Stadt Blankenberg. Here's a picture of Blankenberger Straße. Straße means street. Show the folks what's up, Pops...

So, we went to Mainz-Ebersheim first. We'd been there before and knew the score, mostly. We got some more information from the city hall on the history of Blankenbergers in Ebersheim. Most all present-day German Blankenbergers live in this small town outside Mainz and have since about 1700. Dad was given a book published by the town on the history of the town. There were several very old grade school photos and the like with many Blankenbergers in them. It was pretty cool.


Next was Stadt Blankenberg. This was particularly exciting because none of had been there, and Pops knew from research that there were castle ruins still there. If I got everything right from what Pops was telling me, our ancestors began in Stadt Blankenberg around 1100 a.d. or 1200 a.d. Well, they thrived for quite some time in the city and, Dad, didn't you say at one time one of the Matriarchs ran the town? Anywho, round about 1700 there was a major conflict with the church, the church took over the castle and kicked out the Blankenbergs. That is when they left town for Mainz-Ebersheim.


We went to claim our inheritance back. Here is a picture of the outermost tower that overlooks the valley. We were able to go inside and have a look around. The doorways, stairs and hallways were not made for modern man, by any means. Quite tight in there!

In German, there are two types of 'castles'. One is a 'Schloss', the other is a 'Burg'. A Schloss is a castle that is more for show - a symbol of wealth or importance. It has no particular function other than as a status symol. A 'Burg' is a castle built like a fortress - strictly for defense or military purposes. So Burg Blankenberg was quite functional and built on the very edge of some very high ground. Great location for keeping the baddies out.

There was a wall that surrounded a good portion of the town, which includes the present town as well. Dad and I both took a piece of the wall home. Consequently, we were arrested and shackled in the middle of town while old ladies threw rotten cabbage at us. Sorry, no picture of that.All in all, it truly was a great experience to know that we were walking the same steps and pathways as our ancestors did hundreds of years before. Can't quite put it into words exactly. And to know the history of the family tree, all the interesting plots and twists, made it as special as it was. This trip ranks very high on my list of experiences here so far.

Slippers of Steel

A Christmas present last year from Simone and Victoria, my Superman slippers have proven to be far more comfortable than steel. And in fact, I don't believe there is any steel actually contained within the threads at all.

Toys'R'Us

Last November we took Victoria to a casting company (yes, we did our homework on them to prevent getting scammed). It was done for fun and to hopefully get some nice pictures out of it. She had several pictures taken. The photographer really liked Victoria and took a lot of extra time with her. Victoria was wearing her 'Born To Rock' onesie and I think that's what really got the photographer going, as she was a rocker herself.

We got a nibble about two months ago from Toys'R'Us who needed a baby Victoria's age for their next set of ads, but nothing came about from it. No worries, Victoria had fun doing the photoshoot and so did we.

Yeehaw!

Ride 'em cowgirl!
Victoria is now beginning to eat a cracker/cookie while we have our breakfast. She has her own breakfast much earlier of course, but it's a nice snack until lunch. She's been watching us eat long enough now from her own chair. She's been taking notes with her pencil and paper for several weeks now and she told me she thinks she's got the idea.

O'Hare Airport

A couple of days ago I was walking with Tasha and Leo early in the morning around the farmfields behind our place. It was raining, as it does here often. It was also the time when most other doglovers were walking their dogs before leaving for work.
I got a really big laugh that morning. Here is why.

There are two main pathways from the farmfields that go back to the houses in the town. This particular morning, which was very wet and very windy and downright nasty, there were about six people and about ten dogs within a few hundred yards from each other. We all wanted to get back into our homes as quickly as possible. Well, we all mostly know each other's dogs and we know who gets along and who doesn't.
So, without a word spoken, just like jets circling O'Hare airport, we all waited, circling, then approached the two 'runways' at appropriate distances from one another and filed into the town - without incident I might add. Just cracked me up, that's all.

Mahlzeit

Victoria started eating solid lunches shortly after Christmas, and now she enjoys solid dinners as well. She eats everything thus far, with no particular preferences for one food or another. Fruits, vegetables, meats, you name it. Of course, we're to understand that can and usually does change over time.

She sits in her hochstuhl quite nicely for mealtimes. She gets pretty excited (learned that from Daddy) about the prospect of embarking on an adventure for the tastebuds. She makes a 'hommm' noise just before the spoon gets to her mouth.

As I was typing this I just noticed Leo's contribution to the picture. Nice.