Our first day off

We really haven't had a "day off" since we returned from Arizona a little over two weeks ago. Now, technically, this is not true but let me explain. When we got back from Arizona, we spent the first couple of days just trying to get back on schedule (read: slept alot) before school started. For some reason, the jet lag wake 'up at 2-am and not get back to sleep for three hours' thing really came into full force during that first week back at school. We had two school functions during that same week including our harvest party on Saturday. Believe it or not, I dídn't take a single picture at the harvest party as I was doing all of the grilling that day. However, I got to wear my trusty cow apron which everyone just loves. (Thanks Matt!). I lead worship on Sunday, which is another day of work (I know, I volunteered to do it, but it's still takes time...) Anyway, we really haven't had a day when we could sleep in, get ready at our own pace and not have something scheduled for the day until today. Yeah!

We started our Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market. Look at that blue sky! Even though the town hall clock is just approaching noon, you can see how long the shadows have become - it is certainly, inexorably moving toward winter. Pumpkins and beautiful gourds of all types are for sale here.
In Baselstadt, at their Rathaus, there is a special display of fall foliage - lovely plants that brighten the shorter days.
Since we had the day to ourselves, we decided to trek on over to Basel for the first day of the Herbstmesse (Fall Festival). It was such a beautiful day - wow, we were blessed. Our first stop was Petersplatz, a square bordered by the church of St. Peter and the University that is given over to booths of handcrafts, nummy things to eat and guys hawking the greatest window cleaning gadgets of all time. And, there is a merry-go-round in the middle! The picture below doesn't do justice to the number of folks out to visit the Herbstmesse.
This is the church of St. Peter along one side of Petersplatz. Oh, one of the things we tried last year and just had to repeat (it was the first place Delynn wanted to go) was a booth that sells hot cheese fondue in a bagette. I know, it sounds crazy, but it is only available at the fall festival and it is deliriously good.

Big, big ferris wheel over there at the Münsterplatz.
Delynn says "You can never have too many scarves." I like how her coat compliments the rack.
This is that big ferris wheel at the Münsterplatz. We didn't ride it yet this year - I should say, Delynn has not ridden it yet this year. I'm just not that comfortable with those heights. Did you see the picture earlier? This ferris wheel is taller than the cathederal! No thank you.
We did however muster up our courage to ride the "Circling Swings of Death" (I'm sure that's what it's called... It probably looses something in the translation) The ride looks deceptively simple, just a few chair swings chained to a circular roof structure. The roof raises and and rotates, sending the chairs outward via centrifugal force. But the fun doesn't stop there, oh no, THEN they start tilting the roof so that we swing up and down like a ship tossed on the ocean. Just look at the stark fear on Delynn's face!
Okay, so it wasn't that bad... We had a wonderful day off today. It was just what we needed. We reminded ourselves again why we love this place, why we are here and how wonderfully blessed we are.

Oh yeah, about the only good thing that is coming out of this economic hangover the world is experiencing is the exchange rate is tilting back in our favor. The € to $ exchange rate, which reached a high of 1.60 this August (i.e. 1 € costs $1.60) has fallen back to about what it was when we first seriously considered coming overseas about two years ago. As of today the exchange rate is 1.27 which means that instead of everything being screamingly expensive, things are now just expensive - but that's okay. For example, our monthly rent increased gradually to $185.00 more per month just due to exchange rate fluxuations. It is now back down to what we were paying when we first arrived. Hey, I'm just trying to put a positive spin on things. If we can't see the goodness in all the bad, we would just have to give up.


Also, some other really positive news. We were invited by a student's parents to their home for dinner last night. This is a huge thing in Germany (well, technically they live in Switzerland, but the mom and dad are both German and the part they live in is like a little pocket of Switzerland that pokes into Germany. The town has German borders on three sides). Germans tend to be slow (by American standards) to open up and invite people into their circle of friends. We were honored and humbled to be invited to share a meal and an evening with them. As we understand it, we are the first school staff members to be invited over, even though the family has had children attending Rhein Int'l Academy for like 3 years.


We are setting our clocks back tonight, so whatever time it is where you are, we love you and miss you. Live, love, serve others. Make a difference where you are. Have a God week.

Our 2008 Fall Break

Delynn and I have been back in Germany just a little over 24 hours and we slept almost half of them! For those that did not know (and sorry, I didn't mention anything in the blog two weeks ago) we had our school fall break the week of 6-10 October. The 3rd of October was also a German holiday (Unification day) so we had a little over a week off. Michael's parents are celebrating 50 years of marital bliss this year - as part of this year-long celebration, they wanted to renew their vows at church (After 50 years, it's probably a good idea to review exactly what got them into this situation...) Since we were going to have a break during early October (their actual anniversary date is 10 November) they graciously rescheduled their vow renewal and reception to fit our break. We flew out of Zürich, Switzerland for Tucson, Arizona a week ago Thursday. We stayed in Tucson for a week with the reception and renewal on Sunday. Here is a picture of the lovely couple before church.

Even though we were away for a week, international travel back and forth took up two full days (Ug!), so the trip was really short. It was such a wonderful thing however for brother David and I (and our wives) to stand witness to Dad and Mom as they renewed their wedding vows at church.

So, I was sure that I had taken my camera to church to take some pictures. However, when we walked into the church foyer, I realized that I didn't have my camera with me so I grabbed Dad's keys and ran back to the car. I searched in the car but the camera just wasn't there. I remembered setting it down just before we left, so I figured that it was sitting in the house on top of the fridge. We had arrived quite early for church and I debated running back to the house to get it but my sister-in-law Teri had brought her camera, so we could take pictures. Fast forward to after mass. We are walking through the parking lot to the cars when Eagle-eye Dave says, "Hey, what's that under the car?" We all looked and saw our camera case just behind the passenger side front wheel of Mom and Dad's CRV. We opened the case and the camera was inside, safe and operational. Thank goodness for my brother's amazing sight - if we hadn't seen it, we would have surely driven right over the camera as we left the church parking lot - plus it wouldn't have been at the house when we returned. Yeah Dave! For those of you who don't know my family, can you guess which one is Dave in the picture below? Yeah, you guessed it. He is obviously much older than I am... Okay, well, 18 months older.

We had a wonderful time at the reception - I love this picture of Delynn having a little fun before the festivities began.
Did we say that it was HOT in Tucson? If not, let me tell you - it was HOT in Arizona. Okay, it wasn't like blast furnace hot, it did however get up into the mid 90's (mid 30's C). But, as they say, it was a dry heat. Surprisingly, humidity does make a difference. With humidity in the low teens, the sweat just dries right up without making one feel too icky. Plus, every building has air conditioning...
This is Arizona hot! We were struck again at how beautiful the desert can be. It is not just sand and rocks, there is actually a lot of green and plenty of wildlife. Again, I was so impressed when we were driving through the desert to Tombstone. David was sitting in the middle seat and he kept pointing out stuff while we were driving along: "Hey, there's some coyotes on that ridge.", "Do you see the blimp?", "I think there is a fly on that cow's left horn..." Okay, so he didn't see a fly, but he would point things out that I had to really search to see. Dave must eat a lot of carrots.
So, Tombstone is pretty much a tourist trap. It is located out in the middle of the desert. If they hadn't found silver in the ground, it would not ever have come into being. The fact that it had 103 saloons in the city limits speaks volumes about its rough and tumble reputation. Why, even the Earp brothers (the Law) had to leave town at one point because they were about to be indicted for the unlawful killing of some poor schmuck. Still, it was worth the trip to the well-restored town. Don't those guys below look nefarious? Especially the one in the sunglasses...
We arrived back in Weil a. Rh. yesterday to witness the start of the fall season. We slept in quite late our first morning, which hopefully will begin to get us adjusted back to our regular schedule. As we walked through town today, I got a couple of shots of the new fall colors. We love the way God has given us all of the diverse beauty in the space of one short week.
Yeah, that's a palm tree below. We can actually grow them here. It is fast appoaching the time when they will be pruned and covered for the winter. They don't grow as tall as in Green Valley, but hey, we also have grass. After shopping we stopped by the café just up the street to sit in the beautiful sunshine and soak in the atmosphere. It is one of those things that we have not been able to replicate back in the States. Sitting at a café, watching the world go by. Ahhh. The coming week will be busy - I think we have something going on every evening and Saturday. Please pray for our school reception in Basel on Wednesday evening (11:00am PDT) as we meet and talk with prospective parents, relocation companies and company HR representatives. Also, Saturday is our Fall Party - we will be inviting families from the reception to meet with our current families to learn more about RIA.