Merry Christmas 2010!

We have a beautiful tree this year that I want to show you. It is even more special because we almost didn't get one. We just couldn't seem to get in the Christmas spirit, but we finally rallied because Conrad was coming home for Christmas, and we didn't want to be total wet blankets. We got a modest tree, one we were sure would be half dead already because we had waited too long to get it, and lo and behold, it has turned out to be one of our nicest trees ever. It has a very symmetrical shape and smells so good, just like a Christmas tree should.

We hope you are all having happy holidays!

Blogging

It seems I've hit a dry spell with my blog. I can't quite decide if I'd like to continue with it or not. In the meantime, Chris has started his own blog to chronicle his time abroad in New Zealand; here's the address if you're interested in taking a look:

http://chriswinter07.blog.com/

Leaving Munich

My last days here have been pretty hectic, and I haven't been able to enjoy the things I like so much...for example, the beer gardens! Not that I have spent lots of time in them! But a few weeks ago I went on a long bike ride along the Isar River with a friend (you should see the amazing network of bike paths here), and we ended up at this beer garden, called the "Waldwirtschaft" in Grosshesselohe. The atmosphere at each beer garden is different. At this one they had a jazz band playing, and it was very roomy and had an open feel.

Greg, the Prime Minister, Saying Good-Byes

Greg recently sent me this photo of the prime minister of New Zealand's visit to his ward. He thought it was amusing the way everyone got into the act, even the cleaning lady. The prime minister is the guy with the tie behind the cleaning lady.

Greg and I are both returning home soon! I arrive the end of July and Greg three weeks later. I'm in the midst of saying sad goodbyes here to students, friends and acquaintances and of trying to sell or give away everything in my apartment. It's all a lot harder than I expected.

Various Ways of Crafting

The anthology in the picture has just come out, and it contains three poems I translated into German. I have been the English native speaker consultant in a poetry translating workshop here in Munich, and I got so caught up in the project that I had to try my hand at translating into German, a very difficult endeavor for a non-native speaker. I couldn't have done it without the help of my German friend Ulrike. Thank you, Ulrike!

The poems we translated were written by contemporary British poets who write and publish a great deal of award-winning poetry. You can read more about them and read some of their poems here. Eleven of them came to Munich for a Literatur Festival that we organized and hosted for them. It was a super-intense 3 day exchange of creativity and poetry, and all involved enjoyed the experience a lot.

In knitting news, I have a crochet scarf to show off, made of self-striping sock yarn. I made something similar before, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the result. This new one is made of Schoppel Wolle Zauberball, a fingering weight, mostly wool blend. The pattern from ravelry, is called "Cascading Stylish Shawl" (I did the scarf version).

Reconnecting

All the way back in 1982 I studied at the university in Wuerzburg for a year. It was sort of part of a new exchange program at the University of New Mexico, and Claudia from Wuerzburg went to Albuquerque while I was here. Her boyfriend, Uli, became my good friend in Wuerzburg, and Claudia and her friends hung out with Greg in Albuquerque a bit. Over the years, we have kept in touch, not always faithfully, but still, I knew they were in Altoetting, not far from Munich. We saw them last in 1999 (we think that's the year!) when Greg and I and the boys visited them and their kids on a big Germany trip. Yesterday I spent the day with Claudia and Uli, and it was such a great feeling to jump right back in where we left off. It is really true that the oldest friends are the best ones.

Yes, I ate all of this. It was so yummy!

Here's hoping the next Wiedersehen will not be so far away!

Toe-up Socks Are Finished!

These may look like ordinary knitted socks, but I think they are really special! As I wrote in my earlier post about these, they are knitted from toe to cuff, instead of the other way around. They fit perfectly. I really like this method of knitting socks, and I am so proud of them!